Sunday, December 2, 2012

Bradley Manning trial delay

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Arrested in May 2010, Bradley Manning's trial has been put off until sometime in March of 2012. The 24-year-old army private is accused of having passed sensitive documents to Wikileaks ... and he has been held in restrictive conditions.

Isn't there something in the Constitution about a right to a speedy trial?

In any event, the trial delay is to allow for hearing arguments about the conditions of his incarceration:

The hearing is to determine whether the highly restrictive conditions Manning experienced for nine months were justified. The defense claims the restrictions were so punishing that the case should be dismissed.
Two psychiatrists have testified that the brig commander kept Manning tightly confined despite their recommendations to ease them.
Given the passage of time, I wonder if the trial will assess the actual-factual damage the release of information may have caused. No doubt the prosecution might argue that it doesn't matter what degree of damage might be -- "it's the principle of the thing." But sometimes examining closely-guarded principles is a pretty good exercise.
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