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In Case You Missed This... 'Judge: Army GI (Manning) In WikiLeaks Illegally Punished' - AP
Judge: Army GI in WikiLeaks illegally punishedBy DAVID DISHNEAU — AP
Jan. 8 6:16 PM EST
Army Col. Denise Lind ruled during a pretrial hearing that authorities went too far in their strict confinement of Pfc. Bradley Manning for nine months in a Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Va., in 2010 and 2011. Manning was confined to a windowless cell 23 hours a day, sometimes with no clothing. Brig officials said it was to keep him from hurting himself or others.
Lind said Manning's confinement was "more rigorous than necessary." She added that the conditions "became excessive in relation to legitimate government interests."
Lind said Manning's confinement was "more rigorous than necessary." She added that the conditions "became excessive in relation to legitimate government interests."
And THIS...
Lind rejected a defense contention that brig commanders were influenced by higher-ranking Marine Corps officials at Quantico or the Pentagon.
More: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/gis-hearing-wikileaks-case-focuses-motive
11 replies
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There’s much to say about this ruling and this is only the conclusion. There were tidbits about Manning’s mental health issues while confined at a facility in Kuwait that deserve a bit of attention, as they clearly factored in the judge’s belief that that Quantico staff handled Manning properly and with good justification for the other one hundred or so days that he was confined at Quantico.
Manning faces the possibility of a life sentence for “aiding the enemy.” The defense had hoped to get much more out of this decision than a meager 112 days. They had asked for 10-to-1 credit. They had presented what looked like reasonable evidence in emails that higher-ranking commanders were communicating with commanding officers at Quantico about how to handle Manning in the facility. But the judge did not think that there was any culture in the military that would have led to Manning being punished.
More significantly, there is no ruling for the public to read today. The judge read a ruling for over one hour and a half and the entire press pool scrambled to keep up with what she was reading. There were no breaks. She read the entire ruling, which was probably at least fifty pages if not more.
It was a completely flagrant abuse of secrecy powers, especially when you consider the fact that the ruling was pretty favorable to the government in the sense that the ruling did not award Manning more sentencing credit.
The reading of the ruling today was a prime example of why a challenge against secrecy in the court martial proceedings brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights to grant the press and the public access to court filings, such as government motions, court orders and transcripts of proceedings is critical.
Manning faces the possibility of a life sentence for “aiding the enemy.” The defense had hoped to get much more out of this decision than a meager 112 days. They had asked for 10-to-1 credit. They had presented what looked like reasonable evidence in emails that higher-ranking commanders were communicating with commanding officers at Quantico about how to handle Manning in the facility. But the judge did not think that there was any culture in the military that would have led to Manning being punished.
More significantly, there is no ruling for the public to read today. The judge read a ruling for over one hour and a half and the entire press pool scrambled to keep up with what she was reading. There were no breaks. She read the entire ruling, which was probably at least fifty pages if not more.
It was a completely flagrant abuse of secrecy powers, especially when you consider the fact that the ruling was pretty favorable to the government in the sense that the ruling did not award Manning more sentencing credit.
The reading of the ruling today was a prime example of why a challenge against secrecy in the court martial proceedings brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights to grant the press and the public access to court filings, such as government motions, court orders and transcripts of proceedings is critical.
Much More: http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2013/01/08/judge-bradley-manning-punished-unlawfully-but-not-enough-to-warrant-more-than-weak-relief/
More significantly, there is no ruling for the PUBLIC to read today. The judge read a ruling for over one hour and a half and the entire press pool scrambled to keep up with what she was reading.
And...
The reading of the ruling today was a prime example of why a challenge against secrecy in the court martial proceedings brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights to grant the press and the public access to court filings, such as government motions, court orders and transcripts of proceedings is critical.
