Bradley Manning US Army Intelligence Whistleblower: WikiLeaks

Manning Conviction: a Line the US Should Not Have Crossed

21 August, 18:37  

The government of the United States of America has crossed a red-line in the sentencing of US Army Private First Class Bradley Manning to 35 years in prison. The government has proven that it has ceased to be legitimate and does not uphold the rule of law. By failing to prosecute those guilty of the war crimes exposed by Mr. Manning the US Government continues to flaunt international laws and norms, as war crimes are a crime against humanity, and it continues to selectively and prejudicially prosecute those who expose egregious illegality while protecting criminals who have committed crimes against all of humanity.

The record has shown that the United States of America has become a rogue authoritarian police state. The global military expansion of NATO, massive economic and political manipulation, the control and manipulation of information (in particular through its operations on the World Wide Web), illegal wars of aggression, all of the illegal actions associated with its “War on Terror” and its wanton disregard for international law and democratically accepted norms point to a state corrupted by absolute power and attempting to annex the entire planet and force all countries to be pliant surrogates. This is also underlined by its war against whistleblowers and journalists.

Mr. Manning is just one individual, but his persecution and unjust torture and confinement, for revealing war crimes, is beyond the pale and must not be allowed to stand. His sentencing proves that the United States Government has become a government unto itself, which refuses to listen to the voice of its own people, and egregiously prosecutes the innocent while protecting the worst kind of criminal known to mankind, namely those who commit crimes during a time of war under the color of their respective flags.

This is a call to the international community, to legal scholars, policy makers, the heads of international bodies, the leaders of all countries the world over (even those who have forsaken their own sovereignty to sheepishly comply with all U.S. demands) and in particular to all countries which are members of the United Nations.

This global call is necessary because the U.S. Government refuses to abide by international laws, as well as its own constitution, and has failed to be an instrument of its own people. It has shown itself to be unable to monitor and control itself and is dangerously and alarmingly growing more and more out of control.

Declaration:

I would propose that the international community demand that the United States of America cease the following practices and form a truly independent body to ascertain that these practices are stopped or are in the process of being remedied and that those responsible are being brought to justice. Until such is thus I propose sanctions to be implemented which are listed later. The United States of America must immediately cease:

1. The illegal profiling, suppression, arrest, detention, repression and brutality against peaceful protestors and the stifling of dissent in all forms. This would include freeing all political prisoners and the payment of restitution.

2. All questionable police, military and security service actions under the color of the “War on Terror” against innocent civilians, journalists and anyone else the state deems to be a threat. As well, the payment of restitution to all parties who have been falsely imprisoned, detained or harassed under terrorism statutes. This would not apply to real terrorists of course.

3. The highly illegal practice of extra judicial execution by drone or in special operations or by any other means that they are being carried out regularly by order of the U.S. president and his agents.

4. The practice of using drones for illegal surveillance, military operations where there is not an equal theater of operations, and for carrying out extra-judicial executions. This would include paying reparations to all of those who have suffered or been adversely affected as a result of the wanton killing of innocents that the U.S. drone war has brought about.

5. The practice of aggressive war under any guise, be it preventive, humanitarian or otherwise. This would include an end to the ability to go to war unilaterally or with the agreement of “allies” and would only allow the United States to go to war in a situation where there is a full United Nations mandate. This includes “secretly” funding, supporting or training warring parties on either side of any international or internal conflict. These practices must be ceased immediately.

6. The internal and now international practice of racial or other profiling by police, military, special services and other government bodies and compensation to those who have been unjustly victimized by such.

7. The practices of racial and other discrimination in, housing, health care, education, politics, banking, freedom of movement and freedom of residence within the United States and its territories.

8. The abolition of corporate donations to political parties and widespread reforms to make elections transparent and democratic. This includes an abolition of the two-party system, fair and equal opportunities for third parties, an end to harassment and even illegal detention of third party candidates and equal access for third parties to election resources including media and government funds.

9. Collecting, storing and using information on the world’s citizens,

international bodies, sovereign countries and international organizations and entities through the internet and by other illegal and secret means.

10. The practice of state sponsored executions and the death penalty, in keeping in line with the highest international norms and standards.

11. Discrimination against and pay repatriations to native American Indians and the ancestors of slaves.

12. All operations at the illegal offshore extra-judicial Guantanamo Bay Cuba detention facility and the freeing and repatriation of all of those held there.

13. The practice of pre-arrest or preventive arrest and detention.

14. The practice of secret arrest and detention and the denial of Habeas Corpus rights to all persons regardless of who they may be.

15. State sponsored racism. This includes segregation, grants, education and all forms of exclusion where race plays a factor. These practices must no longer be decided or regulated by the white minority or the power elites.

16. All practices that unfairly limit or infringe on worker’s rights, pensions, health care, education, housing and all social spheres.

17. All wars and occupations on invaded lands. This includes paying reparations and rebuilding infrastructure in invaded countries. This would go back to the invasion of Yugoslavia.

18. Promoting and attempting to coerce states and peoples to accept and adopt what for them are foreign and unacceptable concepts, such as equating homosexual relations to marriage, and other religious, cultural or social concepts that are endemic to the United States.

19. All war profiteering in countries that have been invaded by the United States or its surrogates. This includes charging countries to rebuild infrastructure which has been destroyed by U.S. aggression. Thus the United States must rebuild what they have destroyed at their own cost. This would also prohibit private U.S. bodies from profiteering in such rebuilding.

20. All operations and actions to subvert and over-throw the government of Syria and to depose its elected head of state.

21. Funding and supporting terrorists and all such destabilizing operations including fomenting revolutions, funding insurgents and overthrowing governments.

22. All persecution of journalists, whistleblowers and truth seekers including Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, Jeremy Hammond, Edward Snowden hacktivists, and all individuals, organizations and countries that have in any way supported them. This includes their immediate release.

23. The practice of illegally kidnapping and renditioning to the United States the citizens of third countries. This would include the freeing of such victims as Victor Bout and Constantin Yaroshenko.

24. Meddling in the internal affairs of sovereign nations and attempting to pressure foreign governments and organizations through any and all means. This includes compensation to all who have suffered because of overzealous U.S. persecution of individuals such as Julian Assange and Edward Snowden.

25. Manipulating, stealing and otherwise unfairly obtaining the resources of sovereign nations, including “all” resources from human to energy.

26. Torture and illegal detention in any way shape or form and in any location in, or outside of U.S. territory, by the U.S. Government and/or its agents be they public, private or foreign.

27. Monopolizing and controlling all international and extra-U.S. segments of the World Wide Web and committing spying and espionage through public worldwide channels.

28. The global expansion of NATO and all unilateral military formations on a worldwide level.

29. Protecting those guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture, aggressive war, illegal detention and extra-judicial executions. This would include their immediate arrest.

30. All practices which lead to the continued imprisonment of native Americans and which contribute to genocide. This includes reparations to native Americans.

31. Obfuscating the events of 9-11. This includes a true and independent international investigation of the events of 9-11-2001.

32. Cease the detention of all persons being held under secret arrest and indefinitely since 9-11. Reports say almost 9,000 people are currently being held.

33. Using terrorism as a pretext to get away with everything under the sun.

34. An immediate closure of the U.S./NATO military base on the territory of Kosovo, Serbia.

I am not a legal scholar nor an official and the aforementioned and consequent suggestions are in no way connected to the Russian Government. They are my views and recommendations as a fair minded and concerned citizen of the world and a journalist who has been documenting and attempting to bring to light all of the aforementioned crimes for years now. You may take the above points as food for thought. They are chiefly directed at those able to affect policy or bring about change but if you agree with them I would ask you to spread this document around.

Sanctions:

Until the previous points are remedied or steps are taken by the U.S. to remedy them I propose the following sanctions:

The prohibition by all states to allow U.S. military bases to be based in, or military operations to be carried out of, their countries. This includes allied countries and surrogates including those who are NATO members or members of other military alliances.

A prohibition on all U.S. corporations, persons and entities both public and private from profiteering or taking advantage of resources, rebuilding operations or any other area in which they may obtain gains in any war zone, conflict zone or area that has been the subject to U.S. invasion or internal meddling. Including Iraq, Afghanistan, the former Yugoslavia, Libya, Syria, Iran and all other countries in which the U.S. has had a hand in destabilizing or in destroying the country or its government.

Economic, travel, trade, political, communications and military sanctions as determined by international bodies to be applied justly and fairly against those guilt of the aforementioned affronts to humanity.

Given all of the previous points and the current climate in the United States I would also call on all independent and just countries of the world to change their stance and policies on allowing U.S. citizens to obtain asylum and protection in their countries. Asylum should be granted to all of those seeking rule of law and who are exposing the illegality of the U.S. Government. It should also be granted to any member of the U.S. Government, military, or even special services who refuses to participate in illegality or attempts to expose it or stop it. Journalists, citizens, activists and all others who have suffered at the hands of the U.S. Government or due to the actions of its agents or surrogates should also be protected, including victims of racial, religious and other discrimination. Those whose conscience also leads the to cease to be willing to support the U.S. Government in any way shape or form should also be eligible for asylum if they wish to leave the United States.

The sentencing of Bradley Manning is a sign to all who would dare to expose illegality, it is designed to terrorize anyone who would speak out. I propose we make it a Red Line they have crossed, one which will force us (the world community) to end their illegality.

Manning pleads guilty to ten counts, Kangaroo Trial continues

2 March, 13:18  

Although Bradley Manning  exposed war crimes, the malfeasance of US Government officials in a plethora of situations, the inherent hypocrisy and illegality of the entire paradigm US foreign policy is trapped in as well as the flawed and illegal nature of the entire "War on Terror", he has been illegally detained, persecuted, tortured, prosecuted and demonized by the very people and the very government he was attempting to assist.

On Thursday in a US military court room at Fort Meade, Maryland, US Private First Class Bradley Manning pleaded guilty to providing the WikiLeaks Organization (WLO) with expansive archives of US battlefield reports, military incident logs, hundreds of thousands of sensitive US State Department diplomatic cables, detainee assessment files from Guantánamo Bay, Cuba and videos documenting air-strikes, the killings of civilians and war crimes. The sheer volume of information released by Manning makes it the largest leak of sensitive and classified information in the history of the United States.

Although Mr. Manning did plead guilty to 10 charges involved in providing the information to the WLO he did not plead guilty to 12 more serious charges related to the aiding the enemy accusation, apparently in this case Al-Qaeda.

If Manning is found guilty of aiding the enemy charges he faces life in prison or potentially the death penalty. However the possibility of the death penalty has been played down in the press.

For the 10 charges he did plead guilty to Mr. Manning is facing approximately 20 years behind bars. Mr. Manning has the right to withdraw the guilty pleas any time before the actual trial begins if he chooses to..

Earlier motions by the defense to have the case thrown out or dismissed, due to the illegality of Mr. Manning’s treatment under US and international law (treatment which has amounted to torture), the denial by the court of the right to a speedy trial, the fact that evidence against Mr. Manning was not being provided by prosecutors and the fact that he was not charged with any crime within the time frame guidelines set by US law, were ignored and it was decided by the court that the trial would go on regardless of all of the violations by the prosecution and the government against the rights of Mr. Manning.

During the pretrial hearing, taking place after a mind-boggling 1,000 days since his arrest, Mr. Manning read a 35-page statement for over an hour detailing the reasoning behind his actions.

Mr. Manning admitted to misusing classified information and breaking the law but justified his actions because they were done for the greater good and they were an act of conscience.

Looking pale, diminutive, gaunt and like an individual under intense pressure after close to three years of arbitrary “pretrial” punishment, torture and egregious treatment, Mr. Manning addressed the court and read his statement in clear polite tones showing little emotion and a herculean amount of self-control.

He stated that the first material that he had wanted to release to the public were the battlefield reports but that his initial efforts to contact The Washington Post and The New York Times were rebuffed leading him to approach the WLO, which he added did not pressure him in any way to provide information. In court he took full responsibility for the release of the information.

With regards to the battlefield reports Mr. Manning detailed how he had had to store them on a disc because they were needed on a daily basis by his colleagues and himself in military intelligence and the base’s Internet connection kept failing. He also stated some of his reasons for deciding to release them first including the fact that they showed the illegality and the blood lust of the US forces and flaws in US policies in executing its War on Terror.

He said files were a testament to the fact that the US military were: “…obsessed with capturing or killing people…” who appeared on US kill lists and were in no way concerned with the “collateral” killing that was taking place at an alarming rate.

Regarding the files, which he had stored on his camera’s memory card and then uploaded to WikiLeaks from a Barnes and Noble bookstore in Maryland while on leave, he said: “I believed if the public, in particular the American public, had access to the information, this could spark a debate about foreign policy in relation to Iraq and Afghanistan”.

Mr. Manning also said: “I believed and still believe these are some of most important documents of our time…” and added that he; “… only wanted docs I was absolutely sure wouldn’t cause harm to the United States.”

In particular Mr. Manning made mention of a video called “Collateral Murder” which showed the crew of an Apache Gunship gunning down journalists from the Reuters News Agency and people who had driven up in a van to assist the fallen. His characterization of the U.S. gunner in the “Collateral Murder” video was stunning, “… he seemed similar to a child torturing ants with a magnifying glass.”

With all of the violations with regards to the rights of Bradley Manning and the fact that he exposed war crimes and the blatant illegality of many of the actions of the US Government in their execution of the “War on Terror”, the entire case and the proceedings seem like a poorly orchestrated farce thinly disguised to, obfuscate from and cover up, crimes committed by the government itself. To give legitimacy to what can only be described as a US Kangaroo Court seems absurd but unfortunately for Mr. Manning he is trapped by the very criminals he was attempting to expose.

Given the nature of the material and the way it was released and sifted through by first Manning and then the WLO makes the Government’s charge of aiding the enemy seems even more ridiculous than it already is and begs one to ask the question: who exactly is the enemy? Are the American people the enemy, or perhaps journalists, maybe WikiLeaks (after all Julian Assange has been declared an enemy of the state), or is the enemy journalists like us or the Reuters reporters who were mercilessly gunned down?

The case against Manning just like the US hysteria over WikiLeaks continues to go far to underline the hypocrisy and the illegality of the US Government and the lengths they will go hide and cover up their own crimes.

When the facts that were uncovered and exposed to the world by Mr. Manning came to light, those involved in the crimes he uncovered should have been prosecuted, there should have been an explosion of public outcry and calls for investigations to be initiated but the US public were largely quiet, like sheep to the slaughter, and the US Government instead went after Manning and WikiLeaks.

 In a country where the true rule of law is the most important factor which governs it, the persecution of Manning would never have happened. The conditions under which Manning has been held and the behavior of the state in prosecuting his case have contained so many unconstitutionally egregious violations that if the US followed its own laws the entire show trial would have been dismissed long ago, and Bradley Manning would be a free man receiving reparations.

Persecution of Manning to continue

4 March, 16:11  

Bradley Manning took full responsibility for the information he has pleaded guilty to releasing and has bravely faced the 20 year sentence he could have been handed down, yet for US prosecutors this is not enough, they wish to show that Manning aided the enemy, a charge for which they have the option of executing him. Despite the importance the US Government has placed on the information he released, to date no one has been prosecuted for the crimes exposed by Manning, making the whole process appear to be the workings of a Kangaroo Court.

After Bradley Manning pleaded guilty to 10 charges and stoically faced the fact that he may be imprisoned for 20 years, the US prosecutors decided to continue with his prosecution on 12 more charges including the rarely used charge of aiding the enemy which carries with it the possibility of the death sentence, something the prosecution has said they will not pursue.

Mr. Manning’s plea was not part of a deal to have other charges dropped but the prosecution could have proven its wisdom and used the option it presented them to drop the other charges and move directly to the sentencing phase of the trial.

In a statement released to the public the prosecution stated the following: “Given the scope of the alleged misconduct, the seriousness of the charged offenses, and the evidence and testimony available, the United States intends to proceed with the court-martial to prove Manning committed the charged offenses beyond the lesser charges to which he has already pled guilty.”

The case of Bradley Manning has proven beyond all doubt that real justice is not of real importance to the US, and perhaps in the world if we are to judge the world by the corrupt and illegal rogue country that the United States of America has proven itself to have become and the way they continue to be blindly followed by subservient states and their allies.

According to media reports the prosecutors intend to call 141 witnesses to Manning’s court martial which is scheduled to begin on June 13, 2013, and show that some of the open source documents released by Manning were found in the former compound of Osama Bin Laden. Whether they will provide evidence that the information was used in the planning of any terrorist acts against the United States by Al-Qaeda is yet to be known, but apparently for US prosecutors, at this point, mere possession is enough.

Despite the fact that Mr. Manning exposed war crimes and the illegality of the US execution of the “War on Terror”, despite the fact that he was detained without trial or charges for over 1,000 days and his egregious treatment and pre-trial punishment has been in contradiction of US and international law, US prosecutors plan to continue his trial on charges of aiding Al-Qaeda and the enemy, rather than doing the correct and legal thing and dismissing the charges against him and giving Mr. Manning the right that many feel he he has earned more than most, to be a free man and a hero.

Unfortunately the treatment of Mr. Manning, rather than being an abomination or an egregious exception triggering massive protests and the widespread questioning by the general public of the real motivations behind the actions of their government, a government which is supposed to serve them, for the majority of the misinformed, fearful and subservient population in the United States, it is something that they have become accustomed to, and which in their continuing silence, they support with no import being given to freedom of the press, accountability and the very principles of democracy.

Private Manning is the embodiment of what is wrong with America, and if what he did, did not trigger an internal US debate, it has surely triggered a massive international debate. Mr. Manning is what those hiding behind a veil of secrecy and committing crimes against all humanity fear most, that being an individual with access to information proving their criminal conduct with a conscience and higher moral ideals willing to sacrifice themselves, and his case has exposed that fact to the world.

Whether anything will change or whether anyone will ever be prosecuted for the crimes exposed by Manning is highly doubtful as those who committed and ordered them and their support network are still in power, yet his actions did expose the illegality and the hypocrisy of the US to the entire world, and showed that it is possible for one person to effect, if not change, then at least embarrassment.

It is that embarrassment and the attempt to bring those guilty into account as well as the fact that Mr. Manning is being used an example to scare away others who may be considering blowing the whistle that are behind his persecution and rather than paying proper attention to the message the system has gone after the messenger and all conduits of that message, as they have with WikiLeaks, Assange, Hammond, Swartz, and thousands of other journalists and truth seekers.

Without a doubt those who have subverted the US Government, propagated the whole “war on Terror” paradigm, continue to conduct illegal wars against poor defenseless nations and who remain in power are not interested in pursuing those who are committing crimes in the process of executing their illegal policies, they are in fact protecting them. The list of those who should have been prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity but are being protected, is too long to list here, but includes everyone from Bush down to Lynndie England, and hence the ongoing persecution of Manning.

According to the military and the hawks in power Manning was supposed to keep his mouth shut and follow orders, just like every other soldier or tool of the US apparatus, that was his sin and the most expeditious way to prosecute him is by saying he was aiding terrorists and Al-Qaeda.

What in fact Mr. Manning has done, is aid the American people, the world’s populace, the rule of law and true democracy. The fact that he did so knowing the risk he faced and the fact that he has stood up in open court and took full responsibility for the largest leak of sensitive information in US history is something that makes him one of the greatest heroes of modern times.

The US Government and those in power have got it so terribly wrong on so many levels in the case of Manning but above all his case has proven that soldiers and those who witness horrendous acts and illegality being carried out under the color of power have nowhere to go and no one to turn to, proving the true rule of law and legal oversight in the United States have become nothing but a farce and something that lip service is being paid to.

In his almost two hour statement to the court Manning detailed how he came to be an intelligence analyst, how due to his diminutive stature he had a torturous time getting through basic training, the nature and his views on the information he was processing, the problems he had in the field and in carrying out his mission, how WikiLeaks (WLO) came to his attention after they published 500,000 text messages related to September 11, 2001 and the circumstances surrounding each release.

His most telling statement which sheds light on his motivations was the following regarding the diplomatic cable he had access to: “The more I read, the more I was fascinated with the way that we dealt with other nations and organizations. I also began to think the documented backdoor deals and seemingly criminal activity that didn't seem characteristic of the de facto leader of the free world.”

  Truly a prisoner of conscience, Bradley Manning is a hero, and should be treated as such and those responsible for the crimes he has revealed to the world should be gone after, but in reality, this will never occur because in the paradigm that the US is trapped in and our world is being pulled into, the messenger is of more importance than the message, and anyone who goes against the criminality of those in power must be eradicated with extreme prejudice.

Little Chance for Fairness in Manning Case  

29 May 2012, 21:51

The court-martial hearing in the Bradley Manning case is scheduled to be held in September and according to statements

The court-martial hearing in the Bradley Manning case is scheduled to be held in September and according to statements released by the defense team and a recent filing at the Fort Meade, Maryland military court, they are being hampered by the state’s inadequate response with regards to the production of evidence, including delays and even failure to disclose, that may prove their client’s innocence or significantly reduce his sentence.

The case being as such, less than four months is not enough time for them to properly prepare to counter the arguments and charges of the state which carry the possibility of life imprisonment for their client.

In all Manning is facing 22 charges all related to the release of the mountain of classified and sensitive information that was passed to the site Wikileaks.

The brief history of the case is as follows: in May 2010 Bradley Edward Manning was arrested while on duty in Iraq, where he was working as an intelligence analyst, on charges of having passed classified information to the website WikiLeaks. After his arrest the state broadened the scope of his charges to include several more serious charges which included communicating national defense information to an unauthorized source and the most serious; aiding the enemy which is a capital offense. The state prosecutors have stated that they would not seek the death penalty in this case.

As an analyst for the army Manning had had access to the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet), a system of interconnected computer networks used by the United States Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of State to transmit classified information, up to and including information classified SECRET.

According to information in the public domain the system operates by using a system of packet switching over the TCP/IP protocols in what they call a 'completely secure' environment". SIPRNet is the U.S. Department of Defense's classified version of the civilian Internet and is the SECRET component of the Defense Information Systems Network.

In the latest defense motion, title “Motion to Compel Discovery” lead defense attorney David Edward Coombs makes several statements and accusations that may be surprising in their scope and in the level of negligence the government has shown in not permitting such a high-profile defendant to properly defend himself.

Many experts and human rights workers all over the world see this as only one in a long line of abuses in this case. The case has attracted international attention for many reasons and has reflected badly on the entire U.S. legal system.

Last summer the international community was up in arms over the treatment that was being given to Manning and the way he was being incarcerated, conditions that many say amounted to torture. Among other things he was subject to stress positions and to enduring long periods of time without sleep and nude. There were many who were afraid, including his defense lawyers, that he was being driven mad by the conditions under which he was being kept. At one point this included being asked every five minutes if he was okay.

All of the facts so far do not point to the possibility that Manning will be given the opportunity to receive a fair trial. He was the chosen scapegoat for what the US characterized as a historic intelligence failure, something conspiracy theorists say was an orchestrated release to tie up the intelligence agencies of the world with disinformation and to serve as the spark to ignite the color revolutions of the Arab spring. According to experts these two things were the only real tangible effects of the release of the information that was attributed to Manning.

The brunt of the defense motion has to do with what is called Brady material, named after the name of the case that brought the law regarding discovery into effect. In the motion Coombs said the U.S. government is not conducting the required Brady searches in a diligent and timely manner.

In point 26 he writes that the defense had just learned that on 29 July 2011, the Government sent out a memo to the Headquarters of the Department of the Army requesting it to task Principal Officials to search for, and preserve, any discoverable information. According to a Memorandum for Principal

Officials of Headquarters, Department of the Army, dated April 17, 2012 no action was taken for nine months in response to the Government's request for Brady and other potentially discoverable material. Thus the Defense requests action to taken in line with the April 17, 20l2 government request.

Mr. Coombs continued by saying that the Government has not yet completed a Brady search of its own files (i.e. files which are clearly in the possession, custody, and control of military authorities) even though two years have elapsed since PFC Manning was arrested. This fact does not does not inspire confidence that the Government has diligently conducted a Brady search of other agencies as it was supposed to have done.

ln fact, he says,there are huge questions and inconsistencies in the Government's statements regarding its search for Brady material. For instance the Defense received 12-pages of Brady material several weeks ago, detailing responses by various government agencies that the alleged leaks did little to no damage to those organizations. The Defense was troubled that it was only now receiving such Brody material.

Based on the nature of that Brady material, the Defense believes there is much more similar Brady material out there that the Government has not disclosed. The Defense asked the Government why it was only now receiving such material.  

The answer is clear, it is not in the interests of the government to assist in the Manning’s defense, if he is found innocent and the huge house of cards that has been built up around him comes crashing down many officials at all levels will have to face the piper and while the foxes are guarding the chicken coop assisting someone they accuse is not something that can ever be expected, no matter how much lip service is paid to innocence before guilty.

Have a nice day, wherever you may be.]