A judge in New Mexico dismissed the manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin on Friday on the third day of the trial. He had previously ruled that the prosecution had wrongfully concealed evidence of live ammunition in reference to the case from the defense.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer has dismissed with reservations the case against Baldwin, which related to the accidental gunshot death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of his film “Rust” in October 2021. This signifies that prosecutors cannot retry the “30 Rock” actor.
Baldwin wept when the decision was announced on the third day of the trial in state court in Santa Fe. Shortly afterwards, he hugged his wife Hilaria.
“The court has no way of righting this injustice,” said Sommers, referring to the prosecutor's actions. “Dismissal is the only justified remedy.”
Under U.S. criminal law, prosecutors must turn over evidence to the defense if it could possibly be useful to the defendant.
A defense attorney for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who starred as a gunsmith within the production of “Rust,” said in an announcement he would demand her immediate release from prison, where she is currently serving an 18-month sentence after being convicted in March of manslaughter in reference to Hutchins' death.
Guitierrez-Reed's attorney, Jason Bowels, said prosecutors have demonstrated an “absolutely shocking” pattern of misconduct within the case involving Baldwin and his client.
Sommer sent the jury home for the weekend on Friday after receiving a motion from Baldwin's lawyers to dismiss the case. She then held a hearing on the defense's claims.
The defense identified that the ammunition was within the possession of the prosecution and that Baldwin's team had not previously been informed of it.
“We don't know if it was a live ammunition match or not,” Baldwin's attorney Luke Nikas told Sommer, based on the Associated Press. “But we know the state had it, and it needs to be disclosed.”
Prosecutors, in turn, claimed that the ammunition had nothing to do with the case.
Brian Parrish, an attorney for Hutchins' widower Matthew Hutchins, said in an announcement: “We respect the court's decision.”
The dismissal got here 16 months after prosecutors initially dropped charges against Baldwin because “new facts” had emerged that required further investigation.
At the start of the 12 months, proceedings against him were reopened.
Baldwin was rehearsing a scene when a gun he was holding fired, killing 42-year-old Hutchins.
Since the shooting, Baldwin has denied pulling the trigger of the gun and says he was told the weapon couldn’t be fired when it was handed to him.
If convicted, he could have faced 18 months in prison.
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