14 DAY TRIAL // Bradley Manning got 35 years of prison for his attempt to shed some light on the abuses of the US government and the horrors of an unjustified war. But that's not stopping him, or rather her, from living the life he wants to live.
In fact, with the sentencing over with, he probably decided it was time to make an announcement he has wanted to make for a long time, but which would have probably interfered with the trial.
Bradley Manning feels she is a woman and has felt this way since childhood. In a statement sent to NBC's Today, she revealed that she wants to be addressed as Chelsea and that she would like to begin hormone therapy.
"As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning, I am a female," she said in the statement.
"Given the way that I feel and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible," she added.
The issue was brought up during the trial, but Manning's lawyer David Coombs made it clear that this wasn't done to influence the ruling, just to provide a context for the pressure he was dealing with at the time of the leaks.
But, the lawyer argued, the decision to leak the documents was made only with the hope of sparking a debate and the knowledge that it was the right thing to do.
"It was never an excuse because that's not what drove his actions. What drove his actions was a strong moral compass," he said.
Coombs also expressed hope that the Fort Leavenworth facility where Manning will be held, the only prison for military convicts serving more than 10 years, will allow hormone therapy. The treatment is not usually provided by military prisons.