(Los Angeles) A U.S. prosecutor has asked the U.S. court to reverse its mistrial of actor Alec Baldwin for involuntary manslaughter, contesting any procedural flaws in the case that shocked Hollywood, according to a court document released Wednesday.
The trial concerns the accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of the film Rust had been cancelled in July, the judge having criticised the prosecution for not having given the defence bullets relating to the case.
In a court filing made public Wednesday, New Mexico Attorney General Kari Morrissey challenged the decision, saying the prosecution withheld some evidence because it was irrelevant to the case, she said.
“There was no cover-up because there was nothing to cover up,” she said, asking “the court to reverse its dismissal of the case.”
On set, the 66-year-old American star brandished a gun that was supposed to hold only blanks, but which fired a real projectile. The shot killed Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
Marked by numerous weaknesses and twists, the investigation has never established how real bullets, absolutely forbidden on a film set, ended up on the set of Rust.
Alec Baldwin’s lawyers had directly accused the police of having “buried” evidence that could explain the tragedy, in reference to a batch of bullets given to the sheriff.
However, these bullets were never transmitted to the defense, which was unable to have them examined.
According to the prosecution, these bullets do not match the one that took M’s life.me Hutchins. “This is a red herring,” prosecutor Kari Morrissey said at the time. “It has no probative value.”
After the announcement of the mistrial, Alec Baldwin immediately burst into tears in the arms of his wife Hilaria.