Alec Baldwin’s trial for involuntary manslaughter has been unexpectedly dismissed by a judge, nearly three years after the tragic incident that took Halyna Hutchins’ life.
On a recent Friday, Baldwin, aged 66, was seen embracing his wife Hilaria, aged 40, after Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer announced the dismissal of his case due to police and prosecutor misconduct.
Baldwin has consistently rejected the involuntary manslaughter charge linked to the October 2021 incident during which Hutchins was fatally struck by a bullet while on the set of the movie Rust.
The incident occurred during a rehearsal on October 21, when Baldwin, a father of eight, was pointing a gun at Hutchins, 42, which then discharged, killing her and injuring director Joel Souza.
Baldwin stated that he did not pull the trigger but had instead pulled back the gun’s hammer on the New Mexico set.
If found guilty, Baldwin could have faced up to 18 months in prison.
The prosecution accused Baldwin of recklessly handling a real gun during a make-believe scenario and alleged that he violated fundamental firearm safety rules.
Baldwin’s legal team argued that he had not committed a crime, emphasizing that he was merely “an actor, acting.”
Additionally, they highlighted that the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office had mishandled crucial evidence by taking possession of live rounds and not recording their existence, effectively hiding this information from Baldwin’s defense team.
The controversial rounds were reportedly delivered to the sheriff’s office in March by ex-police officer Troy Teske, a friend of Thell Reed, who is the stepfather of Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.
Gutierrez-Reed, 27, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on the same day Teske is believed to have delivered the ammunition.
Prosecutor Kari Morrissey countered, stating that the submitted Colt 45 ammunition was unrelated to the case and had not been concealed from the defense.
After evaluating testimony from witnesses including Seth Kenney, a prop store owner, and officers from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, Judge Marlowe Sommer found that the withholding of evidence constituted misconduct by the police and prosecutors.
“The late discovery of this evidence during trial has impeded the effective use of evidence in such a way that it has impacted the fundamental fairness of the proceedings,” declared Judge Sommer, adding that dismissal was the only appropriate remedy due to the impossibility of correcting this wrong in court.
This decision permanently closes the involuntary manslaughter case against Baldwin in this court.
“If this conduct does not rise to the level of bad faith it certainly comes so near to bad faith to show signs of scorching,” Sommer remarked.
Upon the dismissal, Baldwin was overcome with emotion, shedding tears and sharing hugs with his legal team and wife before they left the courtroom and drove off without speaking to the press.
Despite the court ruling, Baldwin, along with other Rust producers, is still facing civil lawsuits from Hutchins’ family and various crew members.
Following the judge’s decision, District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies expressed her disappointment, stating, “Our goal from the beginning was to seek justice for Halyna Hutchins. We are disappointed that the case did not get to the jury.”