Alec Baldwin’s defence team asked a New Mexico judge on Thursday to drop the actor’s grand jury indictment for the shooting death of a cinematographer on the set of the Western film “Rust.” The cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died on October 21, 2021, at a movie ranch outside of Santa Fe. Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the indictment that was filed in January. Baldwin has entered a not-guilty plea to the accusation. Prosecutors were accused by Baldwin’s attorneys in a recent court document of “unfairly stacking the deck” against him during grand jury proceedings, deflecting attention from witnesses and exculpatory evidence.
This made it impossible for the jury to argue that they had a right to hear testimony from assistant director and safety coordinator Dave Halls, props master Sarah Zachry, and director Joel Souza, who was shot while standing close to Hutchins. The defense attorney Luke Nikas signed the court motion stating, “The grand jury did not receive the favorable or exculpatory testimony and documents that the state had an obligation to present.” “The grand jury was not informed that it had the duty to seek this information and the right to review it.” Additionally, the motion claims that the grand jury was given biased and erroneous testimony regarding the revolver that was used in the deadly shooting. A jury found “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed guilty of the shooting last week; she is being detained without bond until her sentencing hearing in April. A felony conviction for involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum 18-month prison sentence as well as a $5,000 fine.
Alec Baldwin has entered a not guilty plea to the allegations
FILE: After a fatal shooting on a Santa Fe, New Mexico movie set, Alec Baldwin speaks with investigators in this still from a video released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office. In the Alec Baldwin case, a judge will decide how to proceed with a weapons-related charge against a codefendant in relation to the cinematographer’s fatal shooting during a 2021 movie rehearsal. Regarding his role in the western film “Rust” and the passing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, prosecutors have offered assistant director and safety coordinator David Halls a plea deal. (Source: AP, File; Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office).
Baldwin’s attorneys stated in the motion to dismiss that “state prosecutors have engaged in this misconduct — and publicly dragged Baldwin through the cesspool created by their improprieties — without any regard for the fact that serious criminal charges have been hanging over his head for two and a half years.” “It’s time to stop.” This is both a systemic abuse and an extreme infringement on the rights of an innocent person. Morrissey opted not to respond. She stated in an email that the court would receive a response later this month. Hannah Gutierrez, the movie’s armorer, was found guilty earlier this month thanks to the efforts of Morrissey and Lewis. The 26-year-old Arizona woman who loaded the gun that day was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ death by a Santa Fe jury following a ten-day trial. Following the verdict, Gutierrez was placed under arrest; her sentencing hearing is set for April 15. Prosecutors used evidence in Gutierrez’s trial to imply that Baldwin, by handling his prop gun carelessly, may also be partially to blame for the accident. The jury was shown behind-the-scenes footage from the set by the prosecutors; one clip, taken a few days before the fatal shooting, showed Baldwin hurriedly instructing crew members to reload his gun.
Rust film armorer found guilty of fatal shooting
After earlier charges were dropped in April of last year, Mr. Alec Baldwin was re-indicted in January, according to the prosecution, who said that new tests had shown the incident could only have occurred if the trigger had been pulled. Prosecutors’ new motion claims misconduct on the part of the prosecution. “Enough is enough,” it declared. “This is an abuse of the system, and an abuse of an innocent person whose rights have been trampled to the extreme.” His attorneys contend that the grand jury in the case was not given “substantial exculpatory and favourable evidence” by the prosecution, including the testimony of a witness who could have attested to the fact that he was not involved in hiring crews or enforcing safety procedures. Eight days have passed since Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the movie’s armorer, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The 26-year-old could spend up to 18 months in jail; a sentence has not yet been given.
“Enough is enough,” the attorneys declared
Gun expert Lucien Haag of Santa Fe, New Mexico, shows a gun to the jury during Hanna Gutierrez-Reed’s trial. On the Rust movie set, Gutierrez-Reed was the armorer when Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer, was shot. “This is an extreme violation of an innocent person’s rights, as well as an abuse of the system.” The indictment ought to be dropped by the court. In addition, the prosecution was accused of “unlawfully denying” the grand jury evidence that supported Baldwin, such as by not making Baldwin’s witnesses “available to testify.”
Aside from the fact that Alec Baldwin has been facing serious criminal charges for the past two and a half years, the statement continued, accusing the prosecution of having “publicly dragged Baldwin through the cesspool created by their improprieties.” In January of this year, Baldwin was re-charged with involuntary manslaughter, and a trial in July in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is planned. Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer, was killed on the western film set of Rust in October 2021 when a prop gun that Baldwin was holding went off. Baldwin is accused of involuntary manslaughter. Baldwin insists he did not pull the trigger. The request for the dismissal was made a few days after Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, a Rust armorer, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter following a two-week trial. She faces a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison and a $5,000 (A$7,500, £3,900) fine for the charge for which she was found guilty.
During that period, the prosecution stated they had the option to refile the charges on Alec baldwin
Baldwin left for Montana to continue filming “Rust” after the charges were dropped. Last May, the film’s production came to an end. In anticipation of the movie’s release, the producers have been in discussions with possible distributors. Prosecutors will probably have a difficult time answering persistent queries regarding the state of the gun at the time of the shooting. If the case goes to trial, Baldwin’s defence team’s theory—that the prop gun was defective and may have malfunctioned, causing its discharge—is anticipated to be the main focus of the actor’s case.
Alec Baldwin’s attorneys have cited the gun’s malfunction during testing as evidence for Baldwin’s account of his involvement in the deadly shooting. Baldwin’s claims have been questioned by ballistics specialists, one of whom testified on behalf of the prosecutors during Baldwin’s grand jury case. A few months after the shooting, Gutierrez received the gun, an Italian-made Pietta pistol that was a replica of an old 1873 model, and it was working, according to an FBI forensic examiner who testified during Gutierrez’s trial. Bryce Ziegler, the analyst, claimed to have conducted a thorough series of tests, including repeatedly hitting Baldwin’s prop gun with a “rawhide mallet” to ascertain whether bumping or jostling the weapon would cause a discharge. He explained that he was attempting to mimic situations in which the gun would discharge without the handler pressing the trigger.
