Bradley Manning Seeks Plea Deal

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The evidence "should never have been kept from public scrutiny." They document crimes of war and against humanity." 

"Citizens worldwide" are indebted "to the WikiLeaks whistleblower for shedding light on these issues, and so I urge the Committee to award this prestigious prize to accused whistleblower Bradley Manning" for displaying the highest form of courage at great personal risk.

On October 2, Manning's lawyer, David Coombs, moved to have all charges dropped without prejudice. He cited constitutional and Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) violations.

The Sixth Amendment requires "the right to a speedy and public trial".by an impartial jury".and to be informed of the nature and cause of (all charges); to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have" legal counsel assist in defense proceedings.

UCMJ calls for trial within 120 days of restraint and arraignment. When a service member is placed in pre-trial confinement, "immediate steps shall be taken" to inform the accused of all charges, proceed with trial, or dismiss the case entirely.

The Rule for Court Martial (RCM) 707 also calls for trial within 120 days from arrest to arraignment to assure speedy trial proceedings. By the time Manning's trial begins on February 4, he'll have been incarcerated for nearly 1,000 days.

Willful delay prevented him from being tried earlier. Doing so was unjustified, unconscionable, and illegal. Coombs said:

"The Convening Authority, therefore, is just as much at fault for the lack of a speedy trial as is the prosecution." 

"The Convening Authority abandoned any attempt to make an independent determination of the reasonableness of any Government delay request."  

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