The U.S. Army soldier who leaked classified documents to WikiLeaks could've received 90 years in prison.
Bradley Manning is escorted out of a military court facility at Fort Meade, Md., ahead of his sentencing hearing.
(Credit: Getty Images)
Bradley Manning has been sentenced to serve 35 number of years in prison for turning over hundreds of thousands of classified government documents to WikiLeaks.
Handed down by Colonel Denise Lind on Wednesday, the sentence follows the court's verdict on July 30 that found Manning guilty of nearly all charges against him, though not guilty of aiding the enemy. Judge Lind had presided over an eight-week court martial in Fort Meade, Md.
Manning could've faced as many as 90 years in jail, though prosecutors had urgied a minimum sentence of 60 years. In his closing argument on Monday, Captain Joe Morrow said that alengthy sentence would deter other soliders from following Manning's path, The Guardian reported on Tuesday.
The defense team had asked for a sentence of no more than 25 years, giving the 25-year-old the opportunity to rebuild his life upon release.
Manning must serve at least one-third of his sentence before he's even eligible for parole, The Guardian added. He's already served around three and a half years in prison as part of his pretrial confinement, which will count toward the total years that he must now serve.
No comments:
Post a Comment