Alec Baldwin will not return to court for involuntary manslaughter in connection to a deadly shooting on the Rust film set, as New Mexico prosecutors have withdrawn their appeal.
The proceedings against him earlier this year crashed after a mere three days due to revelations that prosecutors had withheld crucial evidence from the defense.
Baldwin was handling a firearm that discharged on the New Mexico set in 2021, resulting in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
The 66-year-old, who acted in and co-produced the film, maintained that he never pulled the trigger and asserted that he had been instructed to point the weapon at a camera.
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From July: Baldwin case dismissed by judge
Following the conclusion of the trial, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey lodged an appeal, asserting that the dismissal by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer was improper.
The state’s district attorney’s office stated on Monday that while they firmly disagreed with the judge’s ruling, they “did not wish to pursue the appeal with exhaustive efforts”.
Local prosecutors remarked: “Consequently, the State’s attempts to continue litigating the case comprehensively and fairly have faced numerous obstacles that have hindered their ability to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.”
Baldwin’s attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, expressed that this decision “serves as a definitive validation of what Alec Baldwin and his legal team have maintained from the outset – this was a tragic event, but Alec Baldwin committed no offense”.
This means Judge Marlowe Sommer’s initial decision – that the involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin have been dismissed and cannot be refiled – remains intact.
Kari Morrissey was informed that the Attorney General’s office ‘did not intend to pursue’ the case extensively. Pic: Ramsay de Give/Pool Photo via Reuters
The case fell apart when Baldwin’s defense team discovered that the Santa Fe sheriff’s office had seized live rounds as potential evidence on the very day that the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Investigators did not document these live rounds in the Rust case file and did not disclose them to the defense attorneys, leading to a motion for the case’s dismissal.
After Mr. Spiro alleged that evidence had been hidden on the third day of the trial, Ms. Morrissey opted to call herself as a witness, stating that the ammunition was unrelated to this case.
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In an odd moment, Mr. Spiro suggested to Ms. Morrissey during cross-examination that she simply did not “fancy Mr. Baldwin very much”.
AfterShe responded, “That is utterly false,” and commended his performance as well as his political stance. Mr. Spiro informed the court that she had allegedly labeled the actor as a “c*********” and described him as an “arrogant p****” to witnesses. She claimed she did not remember making those statements.
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From July: Watch extraordinary moment in Baldwin case
Concluding the trial, Judge Marlowe Sommer determined that the prosecution’s handling of the live rounds was “extremely prejudicial” to Baldwin, asserting there was “no way for the court to rectify this injustice.”
