Bradley Manning sentenced to 35 years in Wikileaks case
Bradley Manning, the Army private convicted of leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the website WikiLeaks, was sentenced to 35 years in a military prison.
Manning, age 25, a former Army intelligence analyst, was convicted July 30.
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He was found guilty of 20 of the 22 charges he faced, mostly for espionage, theft and fraud. But a judge found him not guilty of the most serious charge of aiding the enemy, which carries a life sentence.
The 20 charges originally carried the possibility of 136 years in prison, but Judge Col. Denise Lind later granted a defense motion that reduced the potential maximum sentence to 90 years.
At the end of the sentencing phase of the trial, Army prosecutors said Manning should serve at least 60 years in prison. But Manning’s defense attorney argued that he should not serve more than 25 years.
In his closing arguments during the two-week sentencing phase, Manning’s defense attorney, David Coombs, continued to portray Manning as a naïve young soldier who believed he could change the world.
Coombs said Manning had “pure intentions” in releasing the documents to WikiLeaks. “At that time, Pfc. Manning really, truly, genuinely believed that this information could make a difference.”
But in court documents released earlier this week that explained her verdicts, Lind said Manning’s conduct “was both wanton and reckless.” She added that it “was of a heedless nature that made it actually and imminently dangerous to others.”
Manning last week apologized for his actions in a short statement he read during the trial’s sentencing phase. “I’m sorry that my actions hurt people,” Manning said. “I’m sorry that they hurt the United States.
