President Obama has commuted the 35 year sentence of Chelsea Manning.
Manning, who was arrested as Bradley Manning in 2010, was sentenced to 35 years and not due to be released in 2045.
The usual sentence for leaking information is 1 to 3 years so Manning’s sentence was unduly harsn and the most severe in US history. Taking into account Mannings transgender status and two suicide attempts, her incarceration has been cruel and usual punishment.
In requesting clemency of Obama, Chelsea stated “I take full and complete responsibility for my decision to disclose these materials to the public, I have never made any excuses for what I did. I pleaded guilty without the protection of a plea agreement because I believed the military justice system would understand my motivation for the disclosure and sentence me fairly. I was wrong.”
Manning had served 7 years and will be released in May.
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To all who campaigned for clemency on Manning’s behalf these last hard years, thank you. You made this happen:
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