What started out as a rehearsal in a small church on the Bonanza Creek Ranch filming location turned into an accidental deadly shooting. Now, Alec Baldwin, the American actor, is facing trial on Tuesday for involuntary manslaughter. Everyone, including the entertainment industry, news outlets, and legal experts have anticipated this high-profile case. In April 2024, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the one responsible for the weapons on set, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter. Will Baldwin meet the same fate, too?
What Did Alec Baldwin Do?
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On October 21st, 2021, Alec Baldwin and others were on the set of the film Rust, shooting a scene at Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe. The scene involved a prop gun but to everyone’s shock, the gun had live ammunition. They only found that out when Baldwin shot the gun in a rehearsal leading to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and the injury of director Joel Souza. Following the incident, the police arrived to investigate.
The Aftermath of the Tragic Shooting
The film production was put on hold and the film’s script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell, filed a civil suit as she saw that Alec Baldwin and others involved had failed to maintain the set’s safety. However, In Baldwin’s first interview after the tragic incident, he claimed that he “didn’t pull the trigger” on the firearm and that he was clueless as to how a live bullet got onto the film set. Of course, this wasn’t a satisfactory statement for the Hutchins and they filed a wrongful death lawsuit. They alleged that reckless behavior and cost-cutting by Baldwin and others had led to Hutchins’ death.
Rust Movie Productions was penalized with the maximum fine allowable, which was $136,793, as they deemed Hutchins’ death avoidable. The production company agreed to pay $100,000. Additionally, the FBI tested the firearm and concluded that the firearm could not be fired without pulling the trigger while the gun was cocked. When Alec Baldwin was confronted with this, he threw the blame on Gutierrez-Reed and First Assistant Director David Halls. Later on, an undisclosed settlement was reached between the Hutchins and Baldwin, which included having Matthew Hutchins, Halyna’s husband, as executive producer of Rust.
Both Alec Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were officially charged with involuntary manslaughter, to which they both pled not guilty. Baldwin’s case was dismissed later on but prosecutors said that the charges may be refiled, which indeed happened as he was charged for the second time for involuntary manslaughter. He pled not guilty again, and New Mexico judge Mary Marlowe Sommer denied Baldwin’s motion to dismiss the indictment, as the case had been properly presented in front of a grand jury.
What Awaits Alec Baldwin
Whether Alec Baldwin would be found guilty or not guilty is a matter of time for it to be unraveled, but it will pose a huge challenge for the prosecution to prove his guilt. Jury selection will start on July 9th and the trial is set to take place at the Santa Fe District Court and begin on July 10th, with opening statements on Wednesday and the anticipated conclusion on the following Friday. The trial is estimated to last eight or nine days, between 10-19 July. If found guilty, Baldwin will be facing the maximum sentence of 18 months in jail for involuntary manslaughter. The trial begins with opening statements on Wednesday and the anticipated conclusion the following Friday.
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