Actor Alec Baldwin has filed to dismiss the two counts of manslaughter, negligent use of a firearm, and failure to exercise due caution charges against him.
Baldwin was involved in the shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021, which resulted in her death. In January, a grand jury indicted him after he already paid a settlement to the Hutchins family.
“Enough is enough. This is an abuse of the system, and an abuse of an innocent person whose rights have been trampled to the extreme,” Baldwin’s motion said.
His lawyers claimed prosecutors are keeping “substantial exculpatory and favorable evidence” from the trial, which is scheduled to start July 9. The lawyers claimed that they anticipated one witness to testify that Baldwin had no part in safety protocols despite his producer title on the film, but prosecutors did not call this person to the witness list.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists actors union seemingly defended Baldwin without naming him in a statement following his indictment. According to the union, “an actor’s job is not to be a firearms or weapons expert” and should be left to the professionals.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
This filing follows the conviction of Rust weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed on a charge of involuntary manslaughter. However, she was not found guilty on a charge of tampering with evidence. Assistant director David Halls notably signed a plea agreement after the New Mexico district attorney charged him with negligent use of a deadly weapon. As a result, he now has a suspended sentence and faces six months of probation.
District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies’s office claims the involuntary manslaughter charge alone is punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine. Gutierrez-Reed has yet to be sentenced for her own conviction.
