Death penalty still an option in WikiLeaks case

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning / AP/Grpahics Bank

Updated at 3:18 p.m. ET

HAGERSTOWN, Md. - Military law experts say the death penalty isn't off the table for the Army private suspected of giving classified material to WikiLeaks, despite prosecutors' promise not to recommend it.

Special Section: WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks: Bradley Manning faces 22 new charges

Three experts said Wednesday that the commander of the Military District of Washington could still refer for trial as a capital offense the charge that Pfc. Bradley Manning aided the enemy.

In that event, a court-martial jury of at least 12 members could vote for execution if Manning were convicted.

Military lawyer Dwight Sullivan, who blogs about military justice at CAAFlog.com, says it is unusual, but not unheard of, for a commander to ignore such a recommendation from prosecutors.

The Army filed 22 new charges against Manning, including causing intelligence information to be published on the Internet. The charges don't specify which documents, but the charges involve the suspected distribution by the military analyst of more than 250,000 confidential State Department cables as well as a raft of Iraq and Afghanistan war logs. Thousands of the documents have been published on the WikiLeaks website.

Although aiding the enemy is a capital offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Army prosecutors have notified the Manning defense team that it will not recommend the death penalty to the two-star general who is in charge of proceeding with legal action.

The Army has not ruled out charging others in the case, pending the results of an ongoing review. Army leaders have suggested that there may have been supervisory lapses that allowed the breach to occur.

The release of the State Department cables was denounced by U.S. officials, saying it put countless lives as risk, revealing the identities of people working secretly with the U.S. It also sent shudders through the diplomatic community, as the cables revealed often embarrassing descriptions and assessments of foreign leaders, potentially jeopardizing U.S. relations with its allies.

While thousands of the cables have been released, the bulk of those downloaded have not been made public.

Manning was charged in July with mishandling and leaking classified data and putting national security at risk in connection with the release of a military video of an attack on unarmed men in Iraq.

Army officials said the new charges accuse Manning of using unauthorized software on government computers to extract classified information, illegally download it and transmit the data for public release by what the Army termed "the enemy."

The charges follow seven months of Army investigation.

"The new charges more accurately reflect the broad scope of the crimes that Pvt. 1st Class Manning is accused of committing," said Capt. John Haberland, a legal spokesman for the Military District of Washington.

In a written statement detailing the new charges, the Army said that if Manning were convicted of all charges he would face life in prison, plus reduction in rank to the lowest enlisted pay grade, a dishonorable discharge and loss of all pay and allowances.

Manning's civilian attorney, David Coombs, said any charges that Manning may face at trial will be determined by an Article 32 investigation, the military equivalent of a preliminary hearing or grand jury proceeding, possibly beginning in late May or early June.

Manning's supporters were outraged.

"It's beyond ironic that leaked U.S. State Department cables have contributed to revolution and revolt in dictatorships across the Middle East and North Africa, yet an American may be executed, or at best face life in prison, for being the primary whistleblower," said Jeff Paterson of Courage to Resist, an Oakland, Calif.-based group that is raising funds for Manning's defense.

Trial proceedings against Manning have been on hold since July, pending the results of a medical inquiry into Manning's mental capacity and responsibility.

The 23-year-old Crescent, Okla., native is being held in maximum custody and prevention-of-injury watch at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va.

[whiteguysrule]

Wikileaks is the first time I have had any respect for you little earthlings.

[decotoguy]

The Practitioners of Deception achieved its goal and that is enslaving the unsuspecting American cilizenry into a FAILED DEBACLE,a DISTASTER called WAR against Terrorism.
I don't think the American people will wake-up any time soon,the terror
level has glued their eyes shut and turned their common sense off.

Americans what became of dialogue,communications and lead by example?

[saturn05]

He is a traitor and should be held accountable. I don't know about the death penalty though. We barely use it now for murderers, why this case. Throw him in solitary and forget about him.

[Jim1900]

Just because you don't see the victims of his crime does not mean that they are not there. Before they decide whether or not to seek the death penalty, I think an estimate of how many Americans will die because of it should be presented. Is it any different than if he released a toxic agent in the center of a city?

[enoughya]

By your standard of measure, Bush and Cheney would warrant the death penalty over and over then, as they directly contributed to the needless deaths of many hundreds of innocent people, not to mention all the torture the endorsed (as war criminals) -- all to appease their own egos and greed rather than the good of the country. At least Manning was going by his conscience in rightly exposing evil in high places.

[nfission]

If the military did kill him it would make a lot of people madder than hell. Many of us are supporting Manning and Assange. Release all the cables now I say, let's get on with it. I want to know the truth about what's going on and behind our backs with 2 nonessential wars and where all the money is going. Americans are being screwed left and right and those of us who seek the truth want to hear why.

[enoughya]

It is ironic that a true patriot like Manning comes forward and rightly exposes the corruption of our government and the absolute murderous behavior of thugs in the US military, and yet he is the one on trial and being threatened with the death penalty? How did our nation and military come to be ruled by such utter thugs?

If there truly was any justice numerous war crimes trials would be underway now for many of the leading figures in our nation for violating the Geneva convention so blatantly over the last decade. The prosecution of a true patriot, who blew the whistle on such thuggery, not only confirms the lack of justice in this nation, but denotes the complete demise of the US to tyrannical status. It is now painfully obvious; despots rule here, and are destroying everything moral giants put in place by founding this country. Real patriots have been replaced by mere thugs.

[usadvisor101]

wow, he knowingly gave out military information and he expected to not pay the ultimate price for being a traitor to his country and his own fellow service members. what an idiot and traitorous RAT!

[pragmatist1]

What he did was commit treason, which should automatically warrant death by a firing squad. He should be shown no mercy, kindness or consideration. He is a traitor.

[konr22]

What about Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld? What they did was way worse! A million times worse! Come on hypocrite.