Newsy Tonight with Chance Seales – WNBA Superstar Sentenced

Newsy Tonight A4J Deputy Director Valena Beety spoke to Newsy Tonight with Chance Seales about the latest development in the Brittney Griner Russia case and how she can get home.

American lives have been uprooted because of simple misdemeanor marijuana offenses—punishments for an activity that is now legal for various purposes in 38 states. But new legislation would provide the needed mechanism to help Americans clear low-level marijuana offenses at the federal level.

ABC15 Arizona Brittney Griner has been sentenced to 9 years in prison in connection to her Russian drug case.

Bipartisan House lawmakers filed a bill on Friday that would create a process to expunge federal misdemeanor marijuana convictions and allow courts to recommend presidential pardons for eligible cases.

This week, Congressmen Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA) and Rodney Davis (R-IL) introduced bipartisan legislation to create an expungement mechanism for low-level violations of federal marijuana law and provide an expedited, orderly process that clears the deck of non-felony marijuana offenses lingering in the federal system.

“Even what has been conceited was two vape cartridges, less than a gram of cannabis oil. It simply doesn’t match this allegation of large-scale drug trafficking,” Beety said.

Women are more likely than men to be wrongfully convicted of crimes, leading to complex legal battles—and sometimes extended prison sentences, legal experts told a recent panel sponsored by John Jay College’s Institute for Innovation in Prosecution.

The race for state attorney general is one of the most crowded fields on Arizona’s primary ballots. And recent Supreme Court decisions have put this down-ballot race in the spotlight.