Manning’s lawyer hopes for custody changes - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Manning’s lawyer hopes for custody changes

QUANTICO, Va. — The lawyer for an Army private suspected of passing thousands of classified U.S. documents to WikiLeaks says he's hopeful that a new brig commander will ease the soldier's confinement conditions.

Attorney David Coombs of Fall River, Mass., said in a blog posting late Wednesday that his hopes were raised by the change of command Monday of the Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Va., where Pfc. Bradley Manning is being held for possible trial.

Manning has been confined to his cell at least 23 hours a day as a maximum-security detainee since he arrived at Quantico on July 29.

Coombs says he's hopeful that the new commander, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Denise Barnes, will reassign Manning to medium-security after reviewing his classification.