Does Bradley Manning Deserve to Die?

Last week the Army announced new charges against Bradley Manning, the soldier who allegedly leaked classified documents about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to WikiLeaks. One of the new charges, aiding the enemy, could result in the death penalty.

While military and political leaders have claimed that the leaked documents put lives at risks, no evidence exists of any actual fallout. Whether you see Manning as a hero or a traitor, the importance of the leaked information to the American public and especially the lack of any actual damages make the death penalty seem incredibly inappropriate.

A violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice Article 104 (4)(a) occurs when “the accused, without proper authority, knowingly [gives] intelligence information to the enemy.”

The “enemy” is defined in UCMJ Article 99.  It includes organized enemy forces during a time of war or any hostile body that our forces may be opposing.  It can also include civilians.

Did Bradley Manning “knowingly” give intelligence to the enemy?  No matter how much you don’t like WikiLeaks, it’s hard to classify them as an “enemy” using the plain meaning of the words. I imagine the Army will try to argue that Manning gave the information to WikiLeaks with the understanding that they would most likely publish it.  That would then allow actual “enemies” to eventually get a hold of it. That claim, however, is more like recklessness than actual knowledge. Also, it may be difficult to prove that Manning even gave the documents to WikiLeaks in the first place.

I think the Army is overreaching in its prosecution of Manning. It wants to scare other service members from following Manning’s lead, but piling up tenuous charges won’t help.  Just because it’s tough to keep secrets in the information age doesn’t mean we can start repurposing laws to make examples out of defendants. Bradley Manning does not deserve to die.