The world was stunned back in July when the involuntary manslaughter charge against the Hollywood star Alec Baldwin was dropped. He had been hit with the charge regarding the 2021 death of the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of his movie Rust.
Now, however, it appears that Baldwin may not be out of the woods yet. The special prosecutor who put this case together has officially requested that the judge who dismissed the charge reconsider her decision.
Prosecutor Demands Baldwin Judge Reconsider
People Magazine obtained a motion that was filed in court on August 30 by the New Mexico special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey, who requested that Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer reevaluate the choice to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin, 66.
“The State asserts that there were insufficient facts to support the Court’s ruling and there was no violation of the Defendant’s due process rights,” Morrisey wrote.
“Specifically, the State asserts that, while the State may have suppressed the ammunition from Defendant Baldwin, the Defendant was aware of the existence of the ammunition and the specific characteristics of the ammunition prior to trial, the ammunition is not favorable to the defendant and is not material to his defense,” she continued.
Find out more about this in the video below.
Baldwin Charge Dismissed
Hutchins was killed on the set of Rust back in October of 2021 when a gun that Baldwin was holding went off. A bullet fatally struck Hutchins and injured the film’s director Joel Souza.
Baldwin was indicted by a New Mexico grand jury for Hutchins’ death back in January. His trial then began at the beginning of last month.
On day three of the trial, however, Baldwin’s lawyers claimed that prosecutors had withheld evidence in the form of ammunition that had not been shown to his legal team. Because of this, they asked Judge Sommer to dismiss all charges. She agreed and dismissed the charges without prejudice, meaning that Baldwin can’t be charged again.
“The state’s willful withholding of this information was intentional and deliberate,” Judge Sommer said in court. “If this conduct does not rise to the level of bad faith, it certainly comes so near to bad faith as to show signs of scorching prejudice.”
“There is no way for the court to right this wrong,” she added.
Related: Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ Case Judge Blasts Prosecutors For ‘Deliberate Misconduct’
Baldwin Celebrates
Baldwin broke down in tears as the charges were dismissed.
“There are too many people who have supported me to thank just now,” Baldwin said afterwards. “To all of you, you will never know how much I appreciate your kindness toward my family.”
If convicted, Baldwin had been facing 18 months in prison. Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is currently serving an 18 month sentence. She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter back in March. However, she is appealing this conviction in the wake of Baldwin’s charges being dropped. Meanwhile, the Rust assistant director Dave Halls took a plea deal last year for negligent use of a deadly weapon.
This has clearly been a very difficult and tragic situation for everyone involved. It will certainly be interesting to see if Judge Sommer reconsiders her decision.
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