Alec Baldwin to be recharged in involuntary manslaughter by special prosecution

On Tuesday, special prosecutors announced their intent to pursue the recharging of actor Alec Baldwin in connection with the fatal shooting that occurred on a Western movie set in New Mexico in 2021. They plan to present new evidence to a grand jury. New Mexico-based prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis disclosed their plan to bring the case before a grand jury within the next two months, citing the emergence of “additional facts” related to the shooting on the set of the film “Rust,” which tragically resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Alec Baldwin, who also served as a co-producer of the film, was involved in the incident during a rehearsal on the film’s set near Santa Fe on October 21, 2021, in which a firearm discharged, causing the fatality of Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. Morrissey and Lewis stated in an email, “Additional facts have come to light that we believe show Mr. Baldwin has criminal culpability in the death of Halyna Hutchins and the shooting of Joel Souza. We believe the appropriate course of action is to permit a panel of New Mexico citizens to determine from here whether Mr. Baldwin should be held over for a criminal trial.”

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Baldwin, for his part, has contended that he only pulled back the hammer of the gun and did not intentionally trigger it. His attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, responded in an email, “It is unfortunate that a terrible tragedy has been turned into this misguided prosecution. We will answer any charges in court.”

Previously, special prosecutors had dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April, based on the possibility that the firearm might have been altered and malfunctioned. Subsequently, they reconsidered the filing of charges against Baldwin after receiving a new gun analysis.

This recent analysis was conducted by ballistics and forensic testing experts in Arizona and New Mexico, who used replacement parts to reconstruct the firearm that Baldwin had handled. Their examination of the weapon and the markings left on a spent cartridge led them to conclude that the trigger must have been pulled or depressed, despite Baldwin’s repeated denials.

Notably, the weapons supervisor on the movie set, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, has already entered a plea of not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering. Her trial is scheduled to commence in February.

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Furthermore, the shooting incident from 2021 has given rise to a series of civil lawsuits, with a primary focus on allegations of lax safety standards on the part of the defendants. These lawsuits include wrongful death claims filed by members of Halyna Hutchins’ family, and they have been contested by Baldwin and other defendants who refute the claims of inadequate safety precautions.