April 20, 2023
Updated 34 minutes ago
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Watch: Alec Baldwin rehearses the gun before the fatal shot
The criminal charge against Alec Baldwin was dropped over a fatal on-set shooting in October 2021.
The Emmy Award-winning actor has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter over the incident during the filming of Rust in New Mexico.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed by a live bullet fired from a prop cannon used by Baldwin.
Development occurs less than two weeks before a trial should begin.
A statement from New Mexico special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis said that “in the past few days…new facts have been uncovered” in the case that warrant further investigation.
“This decision does not relieve Mr. Baldwin of criminal liability and the charges may be reinstated,” the statement continued, adding, “Our follow-up investigation will remain active and ongoing.”
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Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (right)
A lawyer for Mr Baldwin praised the prosecutors’ move.
“We are pleased with the decision to dismiss Alec Baldwin’s case and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding this tragic accident,” his lawyer Luke Nikas told the BBC in a statement.
Mr Baldwin was practicing firing the gun on set at a ranch near Santa Fe when it went off, fatally killing 42-year-old Ukrainian-born Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
The actor denied pulling the trigger, although an FBI report later concluded that the gun could not have been fired without the trigger being pulled.
He was due for a preliminary court hearing on May 3.
The film’s gunsmith, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, also faces two counts of involuntary manslaughter. The statement from the special prosecutors said the charges against them remain unchanged.
A lawyer for Ms Gutierrez-Reed told BBC News that at the end of this trial they “fully expect that Hannah will also be exonerated”.
According to the LA Times, prosecutors recently learned that the gun used in the shooting, a .45 Colt revolver, had been modified with a new trigger that could have made a misfire more likely.
Prosecutors’ statement on Thursday made no mention of the weapon but said the newly uncovered facts “require further investigation and forensic analysis.”
Prosecutors had accused Mr Baldwin, 65, of “recklessly” disregarding the safety of his colleagues.
Mr Nikas, a lawyer for The Hunt for Red October star, previously called the initial decision to charge his client “a terrible miscarriage of justice”.
“Mr Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun – or anywhere on the film set,” said Mr Nikas.
“He relied on the professionals he worked with to assure him the gun had no live shots.”
In an Instagram post following the announcement, the 30-rock actor thanked his attorney and wife Hilaria Baldwin.
“I owe everything I have to this woman. (and you, Luke),” he wrote.
Image Credit: Instagram/alecbaldwininsta
To be found guilty, prosecutors would have had to convince a jury that he acted with “criminal negligence.”
If convicted, he could have faced up to 18 months in prison.
The Santa Fe District Attorney initially added a firearm improvement charge that could have added five years to his sentence.
But it was dropped after prosecutors found the Improvement Act was not in effect at the time of the shooting.
The decision to drop the charges comes the same day Rust resumed filming – 18 months after filming began.
Melina Spadone, an attorney for Rust Movie Productions, said that new on-set rules “will prohibit any use of working weapons and any form of ammunition.”
“Live ammunition is – and always has been – prohibited on set.”
According to Variety magazine, Mr. Baldwin is currently filming Rust on location in Montana.
Hutchins’ widower Matthew will serve as executive producer. Baldwin reached a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by her family last October.
Rust Movie Productions, which includes Baldwin, said in February that the scene that was being rehearsed when Hutchins was filmed has now been rewritten.