The involuntary manslaughter case against actor/producer Alec Baldwin has been dismissed with prejudice. The case cannot be brought back forward unless there is an appeal on the dismissal, which is unlikely. Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter after a series of errors by local law enforcement in New Mexico. The origins of this case started in 2021 when Alec Baldwin was holding the gun that ultimately took the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured producer Joel Souza.
Baldwin was reportedly practicing a scene for the movie “Rust” with the gun in question. The gun Baldwin was holding and pointing toward Hutchins went off, striking her and resulting in her death. Souza was also shot but just injured. Baldwin says he did not shoot the weapon he was pointing, but experts have stated that the gun can’t go off without pulling the trigger. Movie sets are often full of real guns that are utilized on camera, but they are either unloaded or contain blank ammunition. The armorer (person responsible for weapons on set) handed Alec a gun with live ammunition.
The most likely reason for the armorer mixup is that “plinking” happened on set. When the staff of “Rust” was sitting around the set without anything to do, they would shoot at targets with live ammunition using the guns for the movie. Live ammunition may have contaminated the supply of blank ammunition due to a general sense of carelessness on set. Alec Baldwin was accused of running a slipshod operation, which caused a series of errors that culminated in severe injury and loss of life.
Prosecuting Alec Baldwin was going to be challenging from the beginning due to this easily being explained away as an accident and the high-profile nature of the case, which is unusual for New Mexico. The prosecuting ultimately withheld evidence that could have been used in the case in an apparent coverup. The judge dismissed the case based on that. Such a thing could have been avoided if more competent people were in leadership roles in New Mexico’s legal system. There is also the argument that this entire thing was orchestrated to result in Alec Baldwin receiving no punishment for the “Rust” movie set incident.
SOURCES:
Alec Baldwin Cries in Court as Involuntary Manslaughter Case Is Dismissed – Bloomberg
Halyna Hutchins’ widower still wants Alec Baldwin to be held ‘accountable’: lawyer
Judge dismisses Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ case after defense claims evidence was withheld – ABC News
Alec Baldwin weeps in court when judge announces involuntary manslaughter case dismissed | AP News
Judge dismisses involuntary manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin in ‘Rust’ shooting
‘Heads will roll’ after Alec Baldwin case was dismissed – YouTube
