Manslaughter on Rust set | Alec Baldwin trial dismissed due to procedural irregularity

(Los Angeles) Dramatic turn of events for Alec Baldwin: his trial for involuntary manslaughter on the set of the film Rust was canceled Friday due to a procedural error, as the prosecutor’s office failed to turn over bullets related to the case to the defense.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer declared a mistrial for withholding evidence, denouncing conduct “bordering on bad faith” on the part of the prosecution.

Alec Baldwin immediately burst into tears in the arms of his wife, Hilaria. The 66-year-old actor was facing up to 18 months in prison for this tragedy which occurred in October 2021 in New Mexico.

On the set of Rustthe star had brandished a gun that was supposed to hold only blanks, but instead fired a real projectile. The shot killed cinematographer 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.

Concealed bullets

On Friday, his lawyers directly accused the police of having “buried” evidence that could explain the tragedy.

Because earlier this year, two and a half years after the incident, the Santa Fe sheriff received a batch of bullets from a former police officer, who claimed that the ammunition matched the bullet that killed Mr.^me Hutchins.

Enough to potentially establish its origin and clarify the responsibilities of each person in the tragedy.

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 killed Mr.^me Hutchins, a promising 42-year-old cinematographer from Ukraine.

“This is a red herring,” prosecutor Kari Morrissey said. “It has no probative value.”

But the prosecutor appeared very uncomfortable when explaining why this batch of bullets did not play a greater role in the investigation.

“I never saw them until this morning,” she explained to the nervous judge.

However, the testimony of an investigator on Friday showed that she was present during the discussions during which it was decided not to include these bullets in the file. Rust.

In a desperate attempt to save her case, the prosecutor then agreed to be questioned as a witness in court. But she did not provide sufficient explanation for her refusal to inform the defense.

The accusation, discredited

Before this trial, Mr. Baldwin’s lawyers had already multiplied appeals to obtain its cancellation.

The actor has always explained that he was assured that the weapon was harmless, and denies having pulled the trigger.

The tragedy shocked Hollywood, as did the decision to prosecute Mr. Baldwin. Because under industry guidelines, an actor is not responsible for checking for himself that a weapon is harmless.

But the prosecution argued that he had this responsibility before the law, and accused him of having behaved erratically on the set, in disregard of basic safety rules.

Technically, the mistrial does not completely extinguish the possibility of prosecution, said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond.

But in practice, the actor has very little chance of finding himself in court again, he says.

“Prosecutors could try to mount an extraordinary appeal in some way,” he said. “But I don’t think an appeals court would agree with the prosecutor.”

The prosecution comes out completely discredited, according to Chris Melcher.

“It’s really surprising that such a mistake was made. I’m just stunned,” the Los Angeles lawyer told The Associated Press.

According to him, these new revelations could benefit other people convicted in this case, the gunsmith of RustHannah Gutierrez-Reed, and assistant director Dave Halls.

M^me Gutierrez-Reed, who put the fatal bullet in the gun used by the actor, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in April. She is appealing the sentence.

Mr Halls had handed the gun to Mr Baldwin, assuring him it was harmless. He agreed to plead guilty to avoid trial, and was given a six-month suspended sentence.