Alec Baldwin will not appear again in court for involuntary manslaughter over a fatal shooting on the set of Rust after New Mexico prosecutors dropped their appeal.
The trial against him earlier this year collapsed after just three days over testimony that prosecutors had withheld potential evidence from the defence.
Baldwin was holding a gun which went off on the set in New Mexico in 2021, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
The 66-year-old, an actor and co-producer on the film, denied ever pulling the trigger and said he had been directed to aim it at a camera.
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After the trial had ended, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey filed an appeal and claimed the case was “improperly dismissed” by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer.
The state’s district attorney’s office said on Monday that while it still strongly disagreed with the judge’s decision, it “did not intend to exhaustively pursue the appeal”.
Local prosecutors added: “As a result, the State’s efforts to continue to litigate the case in a fair and comprehensive manner have been met with multiple barriers that have compromised its ability to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.”
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Baldwin’s lawyers Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said the decision “is the final vindication of what Alec Baldwin and his attorneys have said from the beginning – this was an unspeakable tragedy but Alec Baldwin committed no crime”.
It means Judge Marlowe Sommer’s original ruling – that the case accusing Baldwin of involuntary manslaughter has been dismissed and cannot be filed again – stands.
The case collapsed when Baldwin’s defence team learnt the Santa Fe sheriff’s office had taken possession of live rounds as potential evidence on the same day the film’s armourer, Hannah Gutierrez, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Investigators did not list these live rounds in the Rust file and they were not disclosed to defence lawyers, prompting a motion to dismiss the case.
After Mr Spiro claimed evidence had been concealed on day three of the trial, Ms Morrissey called herself as a witness and said the ammunition was not connected to the case.
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In a bizarre moment, Mr Spiro put it to Ms Morrissey during questioning that she simply did not “like Mr Baldwin very much”.
After she replied “that is absolutely untrue” and praised his acting and politics, Mr Spiro told the court that she had referred to the actor as a “c*********” and an “arrogant p****” to witnesses. She said she did not recall this.
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Dismissing the trial, Judge Marlowe Sommer found the prosecution’s conduct on the live rounds was “highly prejudicial” to Baldwin and there was “no way for the court to right this wrong”.
