Not looking good for Brittney Griner

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But before the trial even begins, U.S. experts and officials say Griner will be the subject of a show trial, and a guilty verdict is almost a certainty.

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Griner, like most defendants, is expected to spend the trial in a steel-barred cage.

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99% of Russian criminal cases end in a conviction, and that's without the political factors in her case. "It's a fantasy for average Russians. It's a double fantasy for someone in this sort of political case," Pomeranz says.

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Traditionally, the best defense is to admit your guilt and hope you get a lesser sentence," Pomeranz says. "There's not a lot of examples of people raising strong defenses and getting acquitted." In fact, he says, Russian judges tend to be forced out of office if they acquit too many defendants.

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