Manning deliberately broke national security laws and put lives at risk as a result. I thought the 35-year sentence was appropriate.

Regarding Manning’s transgender status, it’s not a get out of jail free card (literally in this case). Manning sounds like a genuinely psychologically disturbed person. Presumably jails will provide treatment options. However, releasing a person from jail simply because of transgender status provides an obvious incentive for an inmate with a long-term sentence to claim that he’s transgender as well.