Judge to deliberate in Manning court-martial

A military judge was set to deliberate the sentence of American soldier Bradley Manning on Tuesday for leaking troves of classified evidence to anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks. Col. Denise Lind said she'll begin deliberating when the court-martial resumes.         

Manning faces up to 90 years in prison for giving the anti-secrecy group more than 700,000 U.S. military and diplomatic documents and some battlefield video documenting civilian deaths.               

On Monday, a prosecutor said Manning should spend 60 years in prison because he betrayed the U.S. by giving classified material to WikiLeaks.               

The soldier's defense attorney didn't recommend a specific punishment, but suggested any prison term shouldn't exceed 25 years because the classification of some of the documents Manning leaked expires in 25 years.                                         

The 25-year-old Manning leaked more than 700,000 documents, including Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield reports and State Department diplomatic cables, while working in early 2010 as an intelligence analyst in Iraq.                    

He also leaked video of a 2007 U.S. Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed at least nine people, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver.                

Defense attorney David Coombs said Manning, who was 21 when he enlisted in 2007, had limited experience in life and in the military. His youthful idealism contributed to his belief that he could change the way the world viewed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and all future wars, by leaking the secret files, Coombs said.            

Manning faces up to 90 years in prison, but Capt. Joe Morrow only asked the judge to sentence him to 60. Morrow did not say during closing arguments of the court-martial why prosecutors were not seeking the maximum punishment.          

A military judge convicted Manning last month of 20 offenses, including six violations of the Espionage Act and five counts of stealing protected information.                  

The judge, Col. Denise Lind, said she will begin deliberating the punishment Tuesday.                   

Manning took the stand last week and apologized for hurting his country, pleading with the judge for a chance to go to college and become a productive citizen.              

Family members and a psychologist testified for the defense, saying the soldier felt extreme mental pressure in the military because of his gender-identity disorder during the "don't ask, don't tell" era.              

Prosecutors have called Manning an anarchist computer hacker and attention-seeking traitor. The soldier's supporters have hailed Manning as a whistleblower. Prosecutors also asked the judge to fine Manning $100,000, reduce his rank to private and give him a dishonorable discharge.


AP