Alex Baldwin will no longer face charges for October 2021 shooting Rust director of photography Halyna Hutchins.
Special Prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey said Monday (Dec. 23) that an appeal to reinstate charges against the actor, 66, was dropped due to lack of support from the New Mexico district attorney’s office, according to The New York Times And CBS News.
The prosecution’s previous case against Baldwin collapsed at trial in July when his lawyers successfully argued that the prosecution had withheld evidence potentially linked to the case.
“The State’s efforts to continue to litigate the case fairly and comprehensively have encountered multiple obstacles that have compromised its ability to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,” Morrissey said in a press release . New York Times.
Alec Baldwin has had his fair share of scandals during his life in the public eye. From two arrests to the infamous voicemail he left for his daughter Ireland Baldwin, the 30 Rock alum has often made headlines for his controversial behavior — and perhaps never as bad as when he was involved in the fatal case. […]
“The appeal would have challenged the Court’s dismissal of criminal charges against producer and actor Alec Baldwin, which included involuntary manslaughter in the tragic shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust on October 21, 2021,” said the New York Times. Mexico’s First Judicial District Attorney’s Office said.
“The FJDA commends Morrissey for his work in prosecuting two cases of such magnitude and national attention, including the successful prosecution of Hannah Gutierrez Reed. The FJDA supports the Hutchins family and their continued fight for justice in the civil courts,” the statement added, according to CBS News.
Halyna Hutchins
Courtesy of Halyna Hutchins/InstagramBaldwin’s lawyers, Luc Nikas And Alex Spirosaid the decision “to deny the appeal is the final vindication of what Alec Baldwin and his lawyers have said all along: this was an unspeakable tragedy but Alec Baldwin committed no crime.” The rule of law remains intact in New Mexico.
Baldwin has not yet publicly commented on the decision, but on Monday shared a link to a New York Times article about this via X.
Hutchins was killed and Rust director Joel Souza was injured following the firing of a prop gun containing a real bullet on set in October 2021. Hutchins’ family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Baldwin in February 2022 and settled with Emmy winner in October.
County Sheriff/MEGA Two documentaries about the Rust shooting involving Alec Baldwin and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins are in the works. Rachel Mason, a close friend of the Hutchins family who directed the 2019 Netflix documentary Circus of Books, worked on a film about Halyna with the help of producer Julee Metz and Halyna’s husband, […]
Baldwin, who denied pulling the trigger, was later charged with two counts of manslaughter in January 2023 and pleaded not guilty a month later. The criminal charges were dropped in April 2023. However, he was charged with manslaughter. second time earlier this year and was tried in July.
The case was rejected by the first judge of the judicial district Mary Marlowe Sommer in July. Sommer agreed with Baldwin’s lawyers that prosecutors hid evidence that could have been linked to the fatal shooting.
It’s been three years since Halyna Hutchins died on the set of the film Rust, and star Alec Baldwin still hasn’t seen the finished project. “No, I haven’t seen the final cut. I was sent a rough cut early on, before everything got a little more tricky and difficult. So I haven’t seen the film. […]
“There is no way the court can right this wrong,” Sommer told the court, according to NBC News. “The sanction of dismissal is the only justified remedy.” The dismissal was with prejudice, which meant the manslaughter case against Baldwin could not be refiled. However, Morrissey sought to appeal this decision.
The gunsmith in the film, Hannah Gutierrez-Reedwas convicted of manslaughter in March and sentenced to 18 months in prison. His lawyers’ appeal for a new trial was denied in September.
