© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Judge Cuts Bradley Manning's Possible Sentence To 90 Years

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is escorted from court on July 25, in Fort Meade, Md.
Mandel Ngan
/
AFP/Getty Images
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is escorted from court on July 25, in Fort Meade, Md.

The military judge presiding over the sentencing of Pfc. Bradley Manning today reduced the maximum possible sentence the former intelligence analyst could face.

Manning, 25, who was found guilty of espionage and theft in the largest leak of classified intelligence in U.S. history, could face up to 90 years in prison, a maximum sentence that is down from the original 136 years.

The AP reports:

"The ruling was largely a victory for defense attorneys, who had argued for an 80-year maximum. Still, the 25-year-old soldier could spend most, if not all, of his remaining years inside a prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

"The sentencing phase of Manning's court-martial is in its second week. He was convicted last week of 20 counts, including six Espionage Act violations, five federal theft counts and a federal computer fraud charge for leaking more than 700,000 documents from a classified government computer network while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq in 2010."

The Guardian reports that Col. Denise Lind decided to merge about 20 counts, which repeated themselves.

The paper adds:

"'By dividing this ongoing act into two separate specifications,' the motion says, referring to the soldier's transmission of the US embassy cables to WikiLeaks, 'the government takes what should be a 10-year offence and makes it a 20-year offence and unfairly increases Pfc Manning's punitive exposure.'

"Lind granted all defense requests to merge counts, except specifications four and six of charge II that relate to stealing and purloining of the Iraq and Afghan warlogs. Reporters present in the court said they were unable to record details of the judge's ruling because she read her judgment so fast."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content