Facing Rest of Life Behind Bars, Will Bradley Manning's Sentencing Weigh Lack of Harm to U.S.?

Despite being acquitted on his most serious charge of "aiding the enemy," Army Private Bradley Manning still faces up to 136 years in prison for the 20 other counts on which he was convicted. The sentencing phase begins today and is expected to last a week. We speak with independent journalist Alexa O'Brien from outside the courtroom at Fort Meade, Maryland, where she has covered the trial daily since it began. O'Brien was the first to make transcripts of the court proceedings publicly available. During Manning's trial, presiding judge Col. Denise Lind rejected a bid by defense attorneys to cite evidence showing the leaks caused no damage to the United States. Manning's attorneys had sought to present "damage assessment" reports that contradicted prosecutors' contention that Manning harmed national security and aided U.S. foes. "This trial has been about probable harm there's been no actual harm actually on the merits," O'Brien says. "Now that we are in the sentencing phase and Manning faces 136 years, we can actually start to talk about the the lack of actual damage from these leaks."

See complete coverage of the Bradley Manning case at

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