The world was stunned last month when the Hollywood star Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter case, regarding his fatal shooting on the set of his movie Rust, was abruptly dismissed by a New Mexico judge. Now, that judge is speaking out to blast prosecutors for “deliberate misconduct” in this case.
Judge Sounds Off Against Prosecutors
District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer issued a new ruling last week. In it, she cited “egregious discovery violations constituting misconduct and false testimony elicited during trial.”
Sommer went on to list out a number of missteps that prosecutors made while trying to convict Baldwin, 66, for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The judge explained that she was left with no choice but to dismiss the case because anything else “would not cure the fundamental unfairness that the State’s misconduct, and its reverberations in trial, had infused into the proceeding.”
The special prosecutors in Baldwin’s case were Kari Morrissey and Erlinda Johnson. Judge Sommer claims that they “intentionally and deliberately” withheld evidence from Baldwin’s legal team. This evidence was the live ammunition that was found on the Rust set matching the live bullet that killed Hutchins.
Judge Sommer believes this evidence could have absolved Baldwin from the beginning.
“Evidence regarding the source of the live round that killed Ms. Hutchins, and additional information concerning how that live round arrived on the Rust set, likely affects the jury’s calculus of proximate cause and negligence by a third person or persons,” she explained.
Related: Here’s Why Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ Trial Really Went Off The Rails
Baldwin Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter
Baldwin had been charged with involuntary manslaughter after a gun he was holding on the Rust set went off in October of 2021. Cinematographer Hutchins, 42, was killed, and director Joel Souza, 51, was injured. The film’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Baldwin was facing the same sentence. However, Judge Sommer dismissed the case against him without prejudice. This means that he can’t be charged again.
Jurors Johanna Haag and Gabriela Picayo have since admitted to The New York Times that they were each having doubts about the case against Baldwin’s culpability before it was dismissed.
“As the week went by … it didn’t seem like a very strong case,” said Haag, who was referred to as juror No. 7.
Full Story: Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ Jurors Reveal What Really Happened Before Case Was Dismissed
Baldwin Responds To Dismissal
Baldwin broke down in tears in court when the case against him was dismissed.
“There are too many people who have supported me to thank just now,” Baldwin wrote on Instagram afterwards. “To all of you, you will never know how much I appreciate your kindness toward my family.”
A source close to Baldwin claimed that he and his wife Hilaria, 40 “did not celebrate” the case being dismissed.
“Despite the ruling, it’s still a devastating situation,” the insider told US Weekly. “They are not planning to celebrate. This has been a private family moment for them with an overall feeling of relief, but they know more lies ahead.”
“It’s been a sad situation, and there is no winning here,” another source added to People Magazine. “They were very worried and are grateful now that they are able to spend the rest of the summer with their kids.”
This clearly turned into a very complicated case. Given how adamant the judge is about prosecutorial misconduct, it seems the case against Baldwin may have been doomed from the start.
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