Alec Baldwin will face charges of involuntary manslaughter over the ‘Rust’ Halyna Hutchins shooting case. His lawyer calls it a terrible miscarriage of justice.
Alec Baldwin’s Involuntary Manslaughter Charges
Santa Fe’s District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announces the charges against Alec Baldwin on Thursday. The same charges are filed against Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the film’s armorer. Additionally, the filing is expected to be completed by the month’s end.
- According to the official statement, actor-producer Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed will each face charges of two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Apparently, the attorney possesses sufficient evidence.
- Emphasizing her determination about the case, she said, “On my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice,” Therefore, both face up to 18 months of jail time and a 5,000 dollar fine upon conviction.
- They will face a jury trial while lawyers for both revealed intentions to fight the charges in court.
Case explained and recent updates
The case occurred in October 2021 when Mr. Baldwin was rehearsing a scene for the Western film ‘Rust’ when an accidental shooting with the prop happened at a ranch near Sante Fe, New Mexico. The accident resulted in the death of Halyna Hutchins. Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the film’s armorer is also facing the same charges.
- Film director Joel Souza also suffered injuries in the shooting. However, prosecutors said no charges were filed in connection with that.
- The film’s assistant director David Halls applied a guilty plea for a misdemeanour charge of the negligent use of a deadly weapon, as per prosecutors. Therefore, He will spend six months serving probation.
- In a statement from the lawyer for Ms. Hutchins’ husband, Matthew supported filing the charges. He finds comfort that no one is above the law in New Mexico when seeking justice.
Alec Baldwin’s reaction to the charges
According to Baldwin’s lawyer, Luke Nikas, the decision was “a terrible miscarriage of justice”. He defends Baldwin based on the actor not having any reason to suspect a live bullet anywhere on the movie set, let alone in the gun being used as a movie prop.
- Lawyer Nikas further explains that the actor relied on the professionals he worked with. He received assurance that the gun did not have live rounds. Therefore, they plan to fight these charges and win the case.
- Meanwhile, armorer Gutierrez Reed’s lawyer defends the announcement as the result of a flawed investigation and an inaccurate understanding of the facts. He further reveals Hannah is sad about this tragic accident. However, she did not commit involuntary manslaughter.
Who is responsible for the incident?
After the misfiring of live bullets from a movie set prop, Halyna Hutchins died in hospital shortly. She suffered a shot in the chest from the prop gun Alec Baldwin fired on set. The incident prompts accusations of negligence and provokes better safety protocols on film sets.
- The initial investigation of the incident found there was a degree of negligence. Therefore, the New Mexico Environment Department fined the producers 136,000 dollars for failing to enforce safety protocols.
- The film’s production company, Rust Movie Productions, argues that they aren’t responsible for supervising the film set. They don’t claim any accountability for supervising protocols for the maintenance and loading of prop weapons.
- After the unfortunate shooting, Mr. Baldwin defends the gun misfire and claims unawareness of live bullets. Additionally, he pleads not knowing what happened on that set and how that bullet arrived in that gun.
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https://twitter.com/mariocavolo/status/1616282503614173184?t=swO-zSJrOsydTdevFZ3Byw&s=19
What was the previous settlement?
In October, the 64-year-old actor Alec Baldwin and the film’s production company settled for an undisclosed amount with the family of victim Hutchins. The cinematographer’s husband filed a wrongful death lawsuit that alleged violations of industry standards.
- However, he has now filed a lawsuit against the actor and armorer of the set under charges of involuntary manslaughter, which covers cases where there wasn’t an intention of harm but regardless, the victim suffered a tragedy.
- Rust’s film production aims to resume this year after the tragic shooting incident, with Mr. Hutchins on board as executive producer.
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The charges will be filed by the end of this month, and Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed will face a jury trial. Currently, they both are planning to defend themselves from involuntary manslaughter.
The case is very perplexing. Who, according to you, is accountable for the accident? Let us know in the comments, and for more latest updates about entertainment, gaming and sports, follow Spiel Times.