Manning takes stand, apologizes for hurting US (VIDEO)

US Army Pfc Bradley Manning was acquitted July 30 of aiding the enemy for giving secrets to WikiLeaks, but was convicted on espionage counts related to the case.
US Army Pfc Bradley Manning was acquitted July 30 of aiding the enemy for giving secrets to WikiLeaks, but was convicted on espionage counts related to the case.

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) - Pfc. Bradley Manning took the stand Wednesday at his sentencing hearing in the WikiLeaks case and apologized for hurting his country, pleading with a military judge for a chance to go to college and become a productive citizen.

He addressed the court on a day of often emotional testimony from family members about his troubled childhood and from a psychologist who said Manning felt extreme mental pressure in the "hyper-masculine" military because of his gender-identity disorder - his feeling that he was a woman trapped in a man's body.

"I am sorry that my actions hurt people. I'm sorry that they hurt the United States," he said as he began.

The soldier said that he understood what he was doing but that he did not believe at the time that leaking a mountain of classified information to the anti-secrecy website would cause harm to the U.S.

Though he often showed little reaction to court proceedings during most of the two and a half month court-martial, Manning appeared to struggle to contain his emotions several times Wednesday during testimony from his sister, an aunt and two mental health counselors, one who treated him and another who diagnosed him with several problems.

Manning, 25, could be sentenced to 90 years in prison for the leaks, which occurred while he was working as an Army intelligence analyst in Iraq in 2010. The judge will impose the sentence, though exactly when is unclear. The next session, for any prosecution rebuttal testimony, is set for Friday.

Speaking quickly but deliberately, Manning took only a few minutes to make his statement Wednesday. He appeared to be reading it from papers he was holding and looked up a number of times to make eye contact with the judge. It was an unsworn statement, meaning he could not be cross-examined by prosecutors.

He said he realizes now that he should have worked more aggressively "inside the system" to draw attention to his concerns about the way the war was being waged. He said he wants to get a college degree, and he asked for a chance to become a more productive member of society.

His conciliatory tone was at odds with the statement he gave in court in February, when he condemned the actions of U.S. soldiers overseas and what he called the military's "bloodlust."

Defense attorney David Coombs told Manning supporters that Manning's heart was in the right place.

"His one goal was to make this world a better place," Coombs said.

Manning's attorneys contend he showed clear signs of deteriorating mental health before and during his deployment that should have prevented commanders from sending him to a war zone to handle classified information.

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