According to Santa Fe, New Mexico, prosecutors, actor Alec Baldwin will be charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on a movie set.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armourer for the movie, is accused with the same crime, according to First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies. She published a written statement announcing her choice.
The prosecutor added that assistant director David Halls "has signed a plea deal for the charge of negligent use of a dangerous weapon" in addition to other allegations.
According to Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor chosen by Carmack-Altwies, "Halyna Hutchins would be alive today if any one of these three people—Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, or David Halls—had done their job." That's how easy it is.
Reviewing the facts in the case, Reeb continued, "clearly reveals a pattern of criminal disregard for safety" on the movie set.
Luke Nikas, the lawyer for Baldwin, described the choice to press charges as "a horrific miscarriage of justice" and a distorting of a tragedy.
According to Nikas, the actor "relied on the specialists with whom he worked, who told him the gun did not hold live ammunition." "We'll fight these accusations, and we'll prevail."
Hutchins was killed in October 2021 when Baldwin shot a live cartridge from a Colt.45 calibre revolver while holding the weapon. They were working on the movie Rust at the time.
Baldwin has insisted that Hutchins' death was the result of a terrible accident, claiming that Hutchins didn't purposefully shoot the gun and had no knowledge it had live ammo when the cast and crew assembled to practise a scene for the movie.
What accusations are made against Baldwin?
Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are both "charged in the alternative" with two counts of involuntary manslaughter each. In addition to determining whether the two are guilty, the prosecution wants a jury to determine which sort of involuntary manslaughter should be used to describe the circumstances leading up to Hutchins' death.
Both accusations are fourth-degree felonies, which carry a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. Baldwin and/or Gutierrez-Reed, however, risk serving five years in jail if they are found guilty of the most serious charges that include a firearm enhancement.
Prosecutors would have to prove that underlying negligence contributed to the shooting death in order to prove the essential element of the involuntary manslaughter accusation. Prosecutors stated that this accusation would "likely" combine with a misdemeanour charge of negligent use of a firearm.
According to the prosecutors, formal charges will be brought against the defendant by the end of this month, kicking off the judicial process.
The choice is made following months of discussion and accusations.
From Baldwin's claim that he did not pull the trigger on the gun to the FBI's denial of that claim — and Baldwin's attorney's claim that the FBI's conclusions were "misconstrued" — the incident has spawned a variety of competing accounts and perspectives.
Gutierrez Reed has previously claimed that the film's supplier sent real bullets rather than blank or dummy rounds, which is how the bullet ended up in the gun.
Last February, Hutchins' family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Baldwin and those involved in producing the movie, claiming that "reckless behaviour and cost-cutting" were factors in Hutchins' 42-year-old death.
But after a deal was reached between the actor and Hutchins' family in October of last year, the lawsuit was put on hold. The agreement said that Rust's production would resume this month and that Hutchins' husband, Matthew, would be appointed as an executive producer.
In a statement regarding the settlement, Matthew Hutchins said, "I have no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of guilt (to the producers or Mr. Baldwin). "We all agree that Halyna's passing was a sad accident. I appreciate that the creators and the entertainment industry have banded together to honour Halyna's final project."
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