The New Mexico judge’s decision to dismiss Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter charge in relation to the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the “Rust” film set has been affirmed. After deciding that the prosecution had not presented any new arguments to overturn her July ruling, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer issued the decision.
The prosecution’ amended motion, according to Judge Sommer, was late and unpersuasive because it only restated past arguments or raised issues that they “decided not to raise earlier.” Attorneys for Baldwin did not immediately respond to the decision.
The special prosecutor, Kari Morrissey, stated that she would appeal the decision because she disagreed with the court’s evaluation. Morrissey took over the case in March 2023 after the previous prosecutor resigned due to errors in the first filing of charges.
Due to claims that the police and prosecution concealed important evidence from Baldwin’s defense team, the case was abruptly stopped in the middle, making it difficult to follow. This evidence reportedly included ammunition presented to the Santa Fe sheriff’s office in 2021 by a man who indicated it could be connected to the murder of Hutchins.
Although the prosecution considered it unimportant, Baldwin’s lawyers contended that the evidence was purposefully “buried” in a different case file, which ultimately resulted in a successful motion to dismiss.
The gun Baldwin was holding fired in October 2021 when he was practicing a scene for ‘Rust’, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin had insisted that he did not pull the trigger when the gun fired, he simply pushed back the hammer.
The legal disputes behind Hutchins’ death have not been resolved by the court’s ruling. The movie’s weapons supervisor, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Hutchins’ death in April and given the maximum sentence of 1.5 years in jail.
Gutierrez-Reed claimed last month that prosecutors had not revealed potentially relieving information, and she asked for a retrial or the discharge of her conviction. However, Judge Sommer rejected this request, stating that Gutierrez-Reed’s defense team had failed to demonstrate a plausible chance that a different conclusion would have been reached had the material been available.
Gutierrez-Reed’s case remains unsettled as her legal team continues to appeal to a higher court. Judge Sommer was not persuaded by her lawyers’ claim that the trial may have been affected by concealed material.
The ‘Rust’ shooting incident has sparked discussions concerning safety procedures on movie sets and the legal obligations of performers, crew, and producers with relation to the use of firearms. Baldwin, the main actor and co-producer, and Gutierrez-Reed, who played the armorer, have both been under legal examination since Hutchins’ passing, which is indicative of more significant issues in the motion picture business.
