I wonder if the people caught with handguns in their carry-ons can use that excuse and get away with it?
"I packed in a rush. Breaking the law was unintentional."
Griner’s other lawyer, Alexander Boikov, said she admitted that the canister “was hers, but she
said that it was unintentionally brought to to Russia, because she was in in a hurry as she was
packing and it was just by accident it ended up in her luggage.”
True or not, she's admitted to breaking the law. Now it's up to how merciful or pragmatic the court will be -- assuming they even have that discretion.
Sometimes, people think the security people at airports are stupid, and they'll try all sorts of ways to get stuff past them.
What I haven't read, and I admit I'm not following all the updates, is whether the Vape canisters that contained cannabis oil were labeled as such and bought that way, or were the labels removed or defaced? Were the canisters refilled with something other than what the manufacturer sold in them? Was there any attempt to disguise the contents? Anything similar to this would be evidence it was intentional.
Even if nothing was changed and was as she bought it, she might still have thought she could sneak it by security checkpoints. Then again, maybe she just didn't understand that cannabis oil is a drug? That sh!# can make you stupid, you know!
The airlines ask if you packed your bags yourself, and if they have been with you the entire time for a reason. If they find something, you've already admitted no one else had the opportunity to put it in your luggage other than you.
Pleading guilty was her only option since she admitted it was a "mistake". Some mistakes have consequences more severe than we anticipate or believe is fair. Still, her situation is all on her.