ANGELA WEISS / AFP
Alec Baldwin, here in December 2022, accidentally killed Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” in October 2021.
JUSTICE – There will be many prosecutions. The American judiciary announced on Thursday, January 19, that Alec Baldwin will be charged with manslaughter after he killed the cameraman for the shooting of Rust Halyna Hutchins in October 2021. The film’s gunsmith who handled the gun faces the same charge.
On October 21, 2021, that filming had become tragic when Alec Baldwin activated a gun that was supposed to contain only blanks, but whose very real projectile killed Halyna Hutchins, 42, and injured director Joel Souza. This rare news shocked Hollywood and had a powerful impact far beyond American borders.
“After carefully reviewing the evidence and New Mexico law, I have determined that there is sufficient evidence to bring charges against Alec Baldwin and other members of the Rust film crew,” said Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies.
Matt Hutchins relieved
Assistant director David Halls has signed a plea of guilty to ‘negligent use of a deadly weapon’. The deal includes a suspended sentence and six months’ probation, but details are not yet known.
#NewMexico First Judicial DA Mary Carmack-Altwies announced that Assistant Director David Halls has signed an agreement… https://t.co/FQxiQhFkDA
— Gabrielle Burkhart (@gburkNM)
“It is a relief to our family to see that no one is above the law in New Mexico,” Matt Hutchins, husband of Halyna Hutchins, said in a statement. He was satisfied with the indictment of the public prosecutor’s office.
Statement from attorney for Matt Hutchins, husband of Halyna Hutchins – ‘Rust’ cinematographer, on charges against Ale… https://t.co/ciXhbEVFFl
– Angenette Levy (@Angenette5)
“Under my supervision, no one is above the law and everyone deserves justice,” the prosecutor said. The charges will be formally filed “by the end of the month,” she said. Alec Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed face up to 18 months in prison if convicted.
The 64-year-old actor, best known for the 30 Rock series, has always said he was assured his gun was harmless. Alec Baldwin also claimed he did not pull the trigger, a claim that experts have questioned.
Will filming resume soon?
In particular, the police investigation focused on finding out how live ammunition could be found on the theoretically strictly forbidden set, precisely to avoid accidents. Officials concluded that shooting gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed had put the ammunition in the gun used by Alec Baldwin instead of a dummy bullet.
In August, the star said he didn’t expect anyone to be charged and told CNN he had hired a private investigator to establish responsibilities in the case. The tragedy led to a series of civil lawsuits from several team members.
In October 2022, Alec Baldwin announced that he had reached a settlement ending the civil lawsuits filed by Halyna Hutchins’ family. Her height was not disclosed. At that time, it was also announced that the filming of “Rust” would resume in 2023.
See also on The Huffpost:
You cannot view this content for the following reasons:
- You have rejected cookies related to third-party content by logging in. You can therefore not play our videos, which require third-party cookies to work.
- You are using an ad blocker. We advise you to disable it to be able to access our videos.
If neither of these two cases applies to you, contact us at [email protected].