Chelsea Manning to be released from military prison – Washington Examiner

Former U.S. Army soldier and convicted spy Chelsea Manning will be released from a military prison next week.

According to a statement released Tuesday the first since her being granted clemency by Former President Barack Obama Manning expressed excitement.

"Freedom was only a dream, and hard to imagine. Now it's here! You kept me alive <3," Manning wrote on Twitter early Tuesday.

Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning, was convicted and sentenced in 2013 to 35 years in prison for violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses after stealing and giving 750,000 pages of documents to WikiLeaks.

The day after being convicted, Manning announced plans to undergo hormone replacement therapy to become a woman.

"For the first time, I can see a future for myself as Chelsea. I can imagine surviving and living as the person who I am and can finally be in the outside world," Manning's statement reads. "I hope to take the lessons that I have learned, the love that I have been given, and the hope that I have to work toward making life better for others."

Manning is currently at a military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and according to the White House in January, the former soldier's prison term is set to expire on May 17. Obama called the 35-year sentence "very disproportionate relative to what other leakers have received" and said that "it makes sense to commute and not pardon her sentence."

The American Civil Liberties Union, which helped represent Manning, said it "couldn't be more excited" that Manning "will finally be a free woman next week!"

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Chelsea Manning to be released from military prison - Washington Examiner