Manning was formally accused of 22 charges associated with the biggest leak of classified documents in U.S. history. The most serious of those charges is "aiding the enemy," which can carry the death penalty. However, Army prosecutors said that option was off the table. Instead, if Manning was found guilty, they would seek to put him behind bars for life.
Some of the other charges against Manning include disclosing classified information to a person not authorized to receive it, wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the Internet knowing that it is accessible to the enemy and violating Army computer use rules.
Manning's defense lawyers argue that he was troubled and shouldn't have been granted top-secret clearance.
After choosing to not enter a plea, Manning also passed on the chance to choose between a jury by a military jury or by a lone judge.
Manning was arrested in May of last year. He served as an Army intelligence analyst in Iraq with top-secret clearance. His alleged leak included over 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables, 400,000 U.S. Army reports about Iraq and another 90,000 about Afghanistan, as well as the now-infamous "Collateral Murder" video.
The soldier was first held in solitary confinement at the Marine Corps Brig in Quantico, Va. He was transferred to a medium-security military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., only after public outcry about his treatment.
In Britain, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is still under house arrest while he appeals extradition to Sweden to answer for allegations of rape and sexual misconduct. Assange is reportedly planning to tape his own talk show from house arrest, where he will interview "'political players, thinkers and revolutionaries." That 10-part series will be run on the network Russia Today.
If Manning is found guilty of all charges, should he be locked away for life? Sound off in the comments below.