A Mexico judge rejected Baldwins’ plea to dismiss sole criminal charge against him in Alec Baldwin shooting case.
Table of Contents
Alec Baldwin shooting incident
Alec Baldwin, lead actor and co-producer of maybe upcoming Rust movie is accused of involuntary manslaughter for killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. In a recent development, A Mexican judge Mary Marlowe Sommer has rejected the plea by actor Alec Baldwin to dismiss the sole criminal charge of fatally shooting down Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust movie and upheld an indictment charging actor with one count of involuntary manslaughter and death of cinematographer.
Not only this, Judge also rejected the defense argument that prosecutors dishonored the rules of grand jury to allegedly deflect attention away from exculpatory evidence and witnesses. However, if we focus on the argument special prosecutors have denied all the allegations and said Alec Baldwin engaged in shameless acts to escape culpability as he gave contradictory statements to law enforcement, to workplace safety regulators and in a televised interview.
What really happened on the set?
During rehearsal on the set of Rust movie, Actor Alec Baldwin was holding and pointed it towards Halyna Hutchins. Revolver went off and killed cinematographer Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza. However, Baldwin in a statement said, “He pulled back the gun’s hammer and not the trigger.”
Following this, Actor Alec Baldwin outrightly rejected charges of involuntary manslaughter which carries a maximum sentence of around 1.5 years in prison.
Alec Baldwin’s reaction when he was told that cinematographer Halyna Hutchins had passed away after she was accidentally shot with a live round discharged from a revolver used as a prop by the actor. pic.twitter.com/a2BjZhxvvo
— Morbid Knowledge (@Morbidful) January 16, 2024
Baldwin accused prosecutors
Defense attorneys for Baldwin in Alec Baldwin shooting case accused prosecutors of cutting off questions from grand jurors and making no to little effort to communicate with defense witnesses.
In a statement, Lead special prosecutor Kari Morrissey said she ensured jurors had questions answered by witnesses with sufficient and relevant experience. Grand jury also showed that it had access to the evidence boxes supplied by defense.
Ironically, last year prosecutors dismissed an earlier involuntary manslaughter charge against the Rust movie actor after being told the gun he was holding might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned the gun he was holding might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. However, New analysis of gun reopened the case and fast tracked the trial in the Alec Baldwin shooting incident.
Prosecutors streamlined the trial after a judge sentenced Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to maximum 18 months at a state penitentiary. Prosecutors said Gutierrez-Reed brought live ammunitions on the movie set which was prohibited thereby clearly infringing basic gun safety protocols.
Removing hurdles
After Hannah Gutierrez-Reed trial and jail term of 18 months, Now Mexico court’s Friday ruling removed all the hurdles for prosecutors to put Baldwin on trial for Alec Baldwin shooting incident.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer rejected all the arguments pointing that prosecutors acted in “bad faith” after thoroughly reviewing transcripts from the January grand jury proceedings and noted that prosecutors are not required to present exculpatory evidence.
Alec Baldwin will stand trial for fatal shooting of 'Rust' cinematographer.
— TaraBull (@TaraBull808) May 25, 2024
Do you think he's guilty or innocent? pic.twitter.com/IErw3QJHOY
The Judge wrote, “New Mexico law does not require a prosecutor to present exculpatory evidence to a grand jury, or require a grand jury to even consider exculpatory evidence after alerted to its existence.”
