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Bradley Manning: What a Just Verdict Would Have Looked Like
by Tomas L. Knapp
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Special to L. Neil Smith's The Libertarian Enterprise

These are the components that I've come up with so far, but there may be more. Think of this as a bare minimum. For now. Ultimately, of course, this has to culminate in the dissolution of the US government—no union with torturers!—but a nice start would have been:

Acquittal on all counts, including dismissal of the counts Manning pled guilty on in a futile effort to give his tormenters an easy way out.

An apology from the US government, to include the thanks of a grateful nation for Manning's heroic service and exemplary behavior.

Honorable discharge reflecting promotion to the rank Manning would have, all other things being equal, attained by this time, with back pay and full benefits (or cash compensation in lieu of benefits) matching the appropriate promotion dates.

Compensation of $1,000 per day for each day of his incarceration, to be paid from the private assets of the members of the chain of command responsible for the malicious prosecution—all the way to the top.

The surrender—voluntarily or through the disbarment process—of the law licenses of judge Colonel Denise Lind and all members of the prosecution team, in concert with their courts martial for violation of, among others, Articles 98 and 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Appropriate action on the crimes exposed by Manning's heroic disclosures, including but not limited to courts martial for war crimes and impeachments for crimes by civilian government officials.

Anything less than these bare minimums is an insult not just to Manning, but to America.

Tom Knapp is an old friend of LNS'sTLE.

To the extent possible under law, Thomas L. Knapp has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to KN@PPSTER. This work is published from: United States. Reprinted from