Bradley Manning supporters buoyed by incompetent over-prosecution

[annm4peace]

http://www.bradleymanning.org/featured/incompetent-overprosecution

(just a snip from the beginning)

By the Bradley Manning Support Network. July 12, 2013

The U.S. government concluded its five-week case against PFC Bradley Manning the first week of July after providing a surprising lack of evidence that the Army soldier had “aided the enemy” by passing military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks. In response, Manning’s defense filed four motions to direct a verdict of not guilty on most of the greater offenses he’s charged with, including “aiding the enemy,” violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and stealing government property.

All four motions are filed under Rule for Court Martial 917 (d), which says a not-guilty verdict shall be granted in the “absence of some evidence which, together with all reasonable inferences and applicable presumptions, could reasonably tend to establish every essential element of an offense charged.” Each motion carefully lays out the ways in which the government’s own witnesses failed to confirm the prosecution’s arguments set forth in opening arguments.

(and a snip from the end)
Dangerous precedent

Bradley Manning has been up front about his actions, taking responsibility for releasing documents as an act of conscience, in a declaration that could put him in jail for up to 20 years.

This wasn’t enough for military prosecutors – under pressure from an administration that has overseen an unprecedented attack on whistleblowers and already deemed Manning guilty – who instead egregiously over-charged Manning in an effort to set an example and instill a chilling effect on potential future leakers.

The lack of evidence supporting this over-prosecution gives Manning’s supporters hope that military judge Col. Denise Lind will follow the law and reject these greater offenses that would otherwise set dangerous precedents for military service members and our democracy.

Its worth noting that even if some or all of these charged are not dismissed outright as a result of these motions, Judge Lind could still find Manning not guilty of these same charges during the normal ruling process.

This overview was prepared by Nathan Fuller and Jeff Paterson for the Bradley Manning Support Network.

[Cronus Protagonist]

1. Don't want to get too excited about this

I'm not a lawyer, but isn't this standard lawyering practice for future appeals?

[JDPriestly]

4. Yes. It is routine.

[sabrina 1]

2. What should happen and what will happen are two different things. I am not hopeful as I have

zero faith in these 'tribunals'. They are foregone conclusions, especially in a case like this. But the US would regain a whole lot of respect around the world which is sadly lacking right now, IF Manning were acquitted and the DOJ began investigating the real criminals.

I can dream, of a real democracy but then, he would not be on trial in a real democracy.

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. It's a shoot-yourself-in-the-ass prosecution from the get go.

They are creating new life-long activists every time people see the helicopter murder video, in exactly the same way that they create new ( what they call) terrorists with drone strikes.