Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012

Marine: Improper procedures used in Manning case

By DAVID DISHNEAU

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — The Marine Corps' top correctional administrator says brig officials at Quantico, Va., used improper procedures to recommend that an Army private charged with giving U.S. secrets to WikiLeaks be held in maximum custody.

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Abel Galaviz testified Wednesday at a pretrial hearing at Fort Meade. The hearing is to determine whether the nine months that Pfc. Bradley Manning spent in the brig amounted to illegal punishment, possibly warranting dismissal of the case.

Galaviz said the board used an unapproved form to convey its recommendations to the brig commander.

He says the board's senior officer improperly filled out the form before the board met.

And he says the officer shouldn't have been a board member at all, since his views could influence the others.

2012-12-05 21:50:17 GMT

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