Military justice in the information age

A homemade sign protesting the Army's accusations against Pfc. Bradley Manning.

Those who commit crimes within the military are often met with severe consequences as doled out by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Pfc. Bradley Manning, the alleged source of classified U.S. military and State Department information for WikiLeaks, has just been accused of “aiding the enemy” by the Army and although military prosecutors contend that they are not seeking the death penalty, life in prison is not out of the question. The accusations against Manning do not provide specific details concerning how he may have directly or indirectly aided the enemy – or who the enemy is exactly. They do, however, outline that Manning installed software onto military computers without authorization for the purpose of extracting data which was then transmitted to another, unidentified source. If this second source turns out to be WikiLeaks, would the Army’s charge be valid? Would putting Manning away for the rest of his life be a fair and balanced punishment or an excessive one? Would it be indefensible for the Army to pursue the death penalty?

Those who commit crimes within the military are often met with severe consequences as doled out by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Pfc. Bradley Manning, the alleged source of classified U.S. military and State Department information for WikiLeaks, has just been accused of “aiding the enemy” by the Army and although military prosecutors contend that they are not seeking the death penalty, life in prison is not out of the question. The accusations against Manning do not provide specific details concerning how he may have directly or indirectly aided the enemy – or who the enemy is exactly. They do, however, outline that Manning installed software onto military computers without authorization for the purpose of extracting data which was then transmitted to another, unidentified source. If this second source turns out to be WikiLeaks, would the Army’s charge be valid? Would putting Manning away for the rest of his life be a fair and balanced punishment or an excessive one? Would it be indefensible for the Army to pursue the death penalty?

Guests:

David Sheldon, Co-Chair of the Military Law Committee of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia

Lt. Col. Hal Kempfer, Retired Marine Core Lt. Colonel, CEO of Knowledge and Intelligence Program Professionals, military expert for ABC-7