Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter case has been dismissed following a motion filed by his defence team accusing the prosecution of concealing ammunition evidence.
After an extraordinary day in court – during which the special prosecutor called herself as a witness – the actor broke down in tears and embraced his lawyers as the judge made the ruling and threw out the case, based on the misconduct of police and prosecutors.
Baldwin, 66, had always denied the charge of involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, maintaining he did not pull the gun’s trigger and that others on the set of the western film Rust, in New Mexico, were responsible for safety checks on the weapon.
He would have faced up to 18 months in prison if he had been convicted.
According to the prosecution, the star had behaved recklessly during a scene rehearsal on the set near Santa Fe, New Mexico, playing “make believe with a real gun” and violating “the cardinal rules of firearm safety”.
But the defence team argued this was not true – he was “an actor, acting” and “committed no crime”.
Now, almost three years on from Ms Hutchins’ death, the case against Baldwin has been dismissed – and Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer has said it cannot be filed again.
His wife Hilaria, who had been supporting him in court throughout the trial along with his actor brother Stephen, also broke down in tears as the judge made the ruling. Baldwin left the building and got straight into a car without speaking to reporters outside.
The breakdown of the case began following the second day of evidence, during which the actor’s defence team learned the Santa Fe sheriff’s office had taken possession of live rounds as potential evidence earlier this year, around the time the film’s armourer, Hannah Gutierrez, was facing her own trial for her role in the shooting.
These live rounds were not listed in the Rust investigation file or disclosed to defence lawyers. Prosecutors said the ammunition was not connected to the case and was not hidden.
Baldwin’s legal team filed their request to dismiss overnight, and the court heard arguments on the motion from both parties without jurors present in the courtroom. When Judge Marlowe Sommer decided she would need more evidence and to hear from other witnesses to make a decision on the motion, she called the jury in only to dismiss them straight away.
The court then heard evidence from witnesses including prop store owner Seth Kenney, who provided blanks and dummy rounds to the set of Rust. He has denied supplying live ammunition to the production and has not been charged in the case. Corporal Alexandria Hancock, of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, and Lieutenant Ryan Randall, also from the sheriff’s office, also testified.
Following the repeated suggestions from defence lawyer Alex Spiro that evidence had been concealed, in an unusual move, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey called herself to the witness stand, despite the judge telling her she was not required to do so.
She denied evidence had been hidden and maintained she had felt it was not relevant.
But Judge Marlowe Sommer found their conduct was “highly prejudicial” to Baldwin and there was “no way for the court to right this wrong” and granted the motion to dismiss.
During his questioning, Mr Spiro put it to Ms Morrissey that she simply did not “like Mr Baldwin very much, do you”.
“That is absolutely untrue,” she replied. “I actually really appreciate Mr Baldwin’s movies. I really appreciated the acting that he did on Saturday Night Live, and I really appreciate his politics.”
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