Obama Commutes Bulk of Chelsea Mannings Sentence

[Drum]

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Tuesday largely commuted the remaining prison sentence of Chelsea Manning, the army intelligence analyst convicted of an enormous 2010 leak that revealed American military and diplomatic activities across the world, disrupted the administration, and made WikiLeaks, the recipient of those disclosures, famous.

The decision by Mr. Obama rescued Ms. Manning, who twice tried to commit suicide last year, from an uncertain future as a transgender woman incarcerated at the male military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. She has been jailed for nearly seven years, and her 35-year sentence was by far the longest punishment ever imposed in the United States for a leak conviction.

Now, under the terms of Mr. Obama’s commutation announced by the White House on Tuesday, Ms. Manning is set to be freed in five months, on May 17 of this year, rather than in 2045.

The commutation also relieved the Department of Defense of the difficult responsibility of her incarceration as she pushes for treatment for her gender dysphoria — including sex reassignment surgery — that the military has no experience providing.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/us/politics/obama-commutes-bulk-of-chelsea-mannings-sentence.html?action=Click&contentCollection=BreakingNews&contentID=64803734&pgtype=Homepage

[bravenak]

1. I wish she could leave at the same time as Obama

[Delphinus]

2. I am grateful.

May she live a good life.

[annabanana]

3. good. . ..n/t

[deurbano]

4. Great news!

[Hekate]

5. YES!

[JHan]

6. Good news.

[milestogo]

7. Thank you.

[stevenleser]

8. While I am not a fan of Manning's actions, this is probably the right thing to do.

There is a real question of how much Manning's emotional issues contributed to her terrible decisions. Seven years is probably enough given those mitigating circumstances.

[2naSalit]

9. +1

[bravenak]

10. Good post, I agree

She faced trial and did hard time. I wonder how safe she would be under a Trump admin.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

13. Good point.

With those goose-stepping sadists leading the new, American Hate, she'd be in deep scary waters.

[bravenak]

17. I think Trump would sick his fans on her if he could

That man is terrifying. I hope Obama stays up all night freeing people from Donald's grip

[BlancheSplanchnik]

48. He is terrifying

And his slouching shuffling orcs are too.

I can NOT imagine that Pres Obama isn't doing everything in his powers now and after the 20th.

[Renew Deal]

15. That's pretty much where I'm at with it

[grantcart]

21. Agreed Steven

She should be viewed as a person who, by her own admission struggles with mental health issues.

Put aside her military related leaks there were thousands of diplomatic files released including communication by UN officials.

Her guilty plea and admission of guilt was a mitigating factor.

[cstanleytech]

24. Oh I agree with you, I just dont agree with the people that thought Manning shouldnt have been

sentenced to any time at all with their theory that Manning had no option when the truth is Manning did have other options but chose not to pursue them much like Snowden.

[hrmjustin]

25. Agreed!

[tammywammy]

39. I agree

Manning needs mental health treatment and other medical care that the US Army is unable to provide.

[Crash2Parties]

45. Unwilling to provide.

[mountain grammy]

11. While I've had problems with what Manning did

I completely agree with this action. Thank you, President Obama.

[TeamPooka]

12. This might be a very good week if we get more stuff like this

[lastlib]

28. Don Siegelman and Leonard Peltier....

...should be tops on the list!!

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

47. Still hoping he pardons them too. nt

[secondwind]

14. wonderful news! n/t

[mahannah]

16. Excellent. But, why not today?

[redwitch]

34. I know right?

Worried for her mental state. And May feels a long way away.

[harun]

18. Wow, huge news. Thanks Obama!

[UpInArms]

19. Yay!!! There is still good news in this world

[brooklynite]

20. "What's the Difference Between a Pardon and a Commutation?"

Slate (2000)

President Clinton has granted a spate of them recently, although not many by historical standards as this piece explains. So how do pardons and commutations differ? For that matter, how do they differ from clemency and amnesty?

President Clinton this month granted clemency to 62 people--clemency is the overall term for official forgiveness of a violation. Three of those people received commutations of their sentences. That is, they were released from prison where they were currently serving time. The rest received pardons, or forgiveness of their crimes after their sentence was served. Pardons come in two forms: full or conditional. A full pardon is a formal forgiveness by the government that restores certain liberties, such as the right to vote or own firearms. It does not imply innocence, nor does it expunge a criminal record. Nor can any fines that were imposed in sentencing be recouped. But it does make those pardoned feel better about themselves. A conditional pardon has some strings attached, such as serving a lesser punishment. A pardon can be granted in anticipation of conviction of any crimes, as in Gerald Ford's 1974 pardon of Richard Nixon. It can also be granted posthumously. Last year Clinton pardoned Henry Flipper, who died in 1940, a former slave who was the first black West Point graduate and who was dishonorably discharged for racial reasons. An amnesty is an official "forgetting" (the word has the same root as amnesia) of actions against the state by a class of people. An amnesty can come with certain requirements. For example, Ford made amnesty available to men who refused to serve in Vietnam, but required community service. But in 1977 Jimmy Carter proclaimed a blanket amnesty for them.

[BumRushDaShow]

23. IIRC

Shrub commuted Scooter Libby's sentence but kept the charges in place (i.e., no full pardon).

In fact - just confirmed that is what happened -http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070200825.html

[Hassin Bin Sober]

36. I kinda remember that being viewed as a slap in the face to Cheney. Cheney wanted a pardon.

[BumRushDaShow]

37. Yup

and I know DU was pissed about it given the whole Valerie Plame kerfuffle, and him not being frog-marched.

[hrmjustin]

22. In the end it was the right decision.

[Rex]

26. Good! No telling what her life would be like under a Trump administration.

Glad to see the POTUS has a larger heart than a lot of people that call themselves progressives.

[Blue_Tires]

27. Color me surprised...

So now will Assange be a man of his word and turn himself over to authorities?

[Jake Stern]

33. His supporters are already moving the goalposts

Look at the Wikileaks FB page and you'll see post after post similar to this:

"What he meant was if Manning were pardoned and since Manning wasn't pardoned but commuted he doesn't have to do it!"

Expect the coward Assange to follow suit very shortly.

[Old Vet]

38. If anyone thinks Assange keeps his word, Please.....

No way.

[tammywammy]

40. It was bullshit. The US isn't trying to extradite Assange. n/t

[joshcryer]

43. Well, the US doesn't want him.

And he only has to hold out a few more years to dodge the rape charges.

So no.

[INdemo]

29. President Obama how can you realease Ms Manning and

not commute sentence of Gov.Don Siegelman or flat out pardon him ?..this is BS

[hamsterjill]

30. CNN reporting that Assange tweeted four days ago that he would come to the US if Manning pardoned.

Anyone else hearing this? Of course, who knows whether Assange will do as he indicated.

But an interesting part of the equation, no doubt.

[Solly Mack]

31. K&R

[NobodyHere]

32. My respect for Obama just plummeted

[Gravitycollapse]

42. That's strange. He did the right thing.

[Yavin4]

35. This feels like the last bit of good news for a very, very long time. n/t

[Calista241]

41. So, all of my friends in the military, mostly lifers, are super pissed off about this.

I'm not sure exactly why, but several of them have posted at length about this on Facebook.

[SteamAddict]

44. Because most lifers in the military are fascist?

Not trying to be a dick, but it is true. I didn't say all. I said most. They are by majority anti LGBTQ so the reactions of your "friends" is espected.

[Crash2Parties]

46. I hope none of the Trump "open-carry" crazies search for her once she's out.

Things have gotten so bad, that was my second thought.

[Calista241]

49. I wonder if the military pushed for this behind closed doors.

So they don't have to pay for her reassignment surgery.