New legal twist for Alec Baldwin: after the initial dropping of charges against him for a fatal shooting on the set of the film Rust in 2021, the American actor was again charged with manslaughter on Friday.
October 21, 2021, the filming of the western Rust in New Mexico turned into a tragedy when Alec Baldwin aimed a weapon supposed to contain only blank bullets, but a very real projectile killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
This rare news item shocked Hollywood and provoked calls to ban firearms on sets.
The 65-year-old actor, who faces 18 months in prison if convicted, has maintained his innocence from the start. He has always maintained that he was assured that his weapon was harmless and also denies pulling the trigger.
But the investigation, marked by multiple weaknesses on the side of the prosecution and which saw several prosecutors succeed one another, has still not succeeded in determining with certainty what really happened: the whole question is know if the Colt. 45 held by Alec Baldwin may or may not have triggered alone.
“We look forward to our appearance in court,” responded his lawyers, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, in a press release.
Conflicting elements
In her press release announcing the new indictment, the prosecutor in charge of the case did not explain her decision.
But according to the magazine Varietya new assessment of the weapon in question, carried out this summer, concluded that it could only have been triggered by pressing the trigger.
Broken during testing by the FBI during the initial investigation, this gun had to be rebuilt and was the subject of conflicting theories.
A first indictment for manslaughter against Alec Baldwin led to the charges being dropped in April.
At the time, new investigative evidence indicated that the gun may have been modified before its delivery to the film crew, increasing the chances of an untimely shooting occurring, according to the Los Angeles Times.
But prosecutors warned that the investigation was continuing and that the actor was not exonerated. New prosecutions remained possible, and finally took place on Friday.
Armorer soon to be judged
The film’s gunsmith, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, is also charged with manslaughter in the case and her trial is scheduled to begin February 21.
During the initial investigation, the police concluded that it was she who had put the ammunition in the weapon used by Alec Baldwin, instead of a dummy bullet.
The investigation never determined how live ammunition could have ended up on set, where only blank bullets are allowed.
The filming of Rust officially resumed in March in Montana, with Halyna Hutchins’ widower Matthew serving as executive producer.
At the end of 2022, he abandoned the civil proceedings he had initiated against Alec Baldwin at the end of an agreement the amount of which was not disclosed. At the time, he attributed his wife’s death to “a terrible accident.”
The Ukrainian parents and sister of Halyna Hutchins, however, are still seeking damages from Alec Baldwin, as part of civil proceedings.
The prosecution “decided that there was sufficient evidence to charge Alec Baldwin with manslaughter,” their lawyer, Gloria Allred, responded on Friday. “We look forward to the criminal trial that will determine whether he should be convicted for Halyna’s untimely death.” »
In parallel with Rusta documentary about the life of Halyna Hutchins and the end of filming is also to be made.