Too Little, Too Late: Obama commutes Chelsea Manning's unjust prison sentence

RT
Tue, 17 Jan 2017 21:39 UTC

© Elijah Nouvelage / Reuters

President Barack Obama has shortened the prison sentence of former Army private and whistleblower Chelsea Manning, She will be released on May 17, instead of remaining in military custody until 2045 as originally sentenced.

Sentenced under US Army Court Martial to 35 years' imprisonment in August 2013, Manning had leaked to WikiLeaks thousands of documents that came to be known as the Iraq War Logs and the Afghan War Diary.

Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning, had demanded the military provide her sexual reassignment surgery to align with her gender dysphoria, identifying as a woman. That issue with the Department of Defense would now be moot.

Manning is one of 273 people "given a second chance," the White House announced Tuesday, tallying up Obama's commutation grants and pardons. The president has so far pardoned 212 individuals and issued 1,385 grants of commutation.

Comment: This may seem like a magnanimous move from Obama, but it could also be a strategic move in order to get Julian Assange to the US, who has said that if Manning is granted clemency he would do just that. It's also worth keeping in mind that Manning's stay in prison was so traumatizing that she attempted suicide at one point. It's likely that the damage done to her will be with her for the rest of her life. Sorry Obama, you don't gain any brownie points from the American public from this.