Can't make this up: Alec Baldwin saved by shocking Hollywood ending to ‘Rust’ shooting trial

In a surprising turn of events, charges against actor Alec Baldwin were dismissed with prejudice on Friday, July 12, 2024, with the trial ending before it even really began. Per the judge’s ruling, Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter case cannot be filed again, a decision which brought the actor to tears as he sat in the courtroom. 

Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter for negligent use of a firearm while on set for his upcoming movie, "Rust." Negligence is a failure to exercise appropriate care expected to be exercised in similar circumstances or, in the alternative, involuntary manslaughter (without due caution or circumspection), both fourth-degree felonies. 

What happened with the gun? 

At the time of the incident, Baldwin was handed the prop gun that day and told it was "cold," meaning there was no live ammunition inside. However, Baldwin contends the trigger was never pulled. Instead, stating the gun discharged a single time when it was removed from the holster on set.  

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The chamber of the revolver contained an actual lead bullet that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. 

The report from the forensics expert, Lucien C. Haag, did not directly address whether the gun had been modified. Though it concluded the old-fashioned Pietta revolver would have needed about two pounds of pressure on the trigger to discharge a round.  

In his report, Haag noted parts of the revolver were broken at the time he received it and that, to test it, he had to replace those parts with new ones. Baldwin’s lawyers had previously raised questions about how such a damaged gun could be properly examined and have pointed to the gun’s fracturing during testing to suggest the gun was defective when Baldwin was using it. 

Can two parties be guilty of one crime? 

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed had already been convicted of involuntary manslaughter, a felony, in Hutchins’ death, and sentenced to 18 months in prison earlier this year, the maximum penalty for this charge. A question that would’ve been posed at Baldwin’s trial would be if two parties could be found guilty of the same crime. 

At the time of her sentencing, the judge in the case referred to Gutierrez-Reed’s "lack of remorse" throughout the trial. The prosecutor, Kari T. Morrissey, said she reviewed Gutierrez-Reed’s phone calls from jail to determine what sentence to recommend to the judge. Morrissey said the calls reflected that Gutierrez-Reed did not take responsibility for Hutchins’ death and chose to "place blame on the witnesses that testified against her."  

However, for Baldwin, all conjecture regarding his action or inaction is a moot point, as this case has come to a close.  

Brady violation ends trial 

New Mexico Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case based on prosecutorial and police misconduct for withholding evidence from the defense, citing case law regarding Brady violations. General examples of Brady violations, including false testimony, lack of credibility of someone assigned to the case, and/or withholding physical evidence that suggests a defendant is not guilty of a crime. 

The Judge stated, "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. 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." 

The evidence referenced was ammunition revealed during testimony on Thursday, July 11, 2024. It was brought into the sheriff’s office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins’ killing. At the time, prosecutors said they deemed the ammo unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin’s lawyers alleged they "buried" it and filed a motion to dismiss the case. 

Consequently, Gutirrez-Reed is appealing her own conviction, and her attorney noted he would file a motion to dismiss based on the decision in Baldwin’s case. And, in a final, surprising twist, special prosecutor, Erlinda Ocampo Johnson, who delivered the state’s opening statement, resigned from the case on Friday prior to the judge’s dismissal of the charges. 

An up-and-down case comes to a stop 

In what was a roller coaster of a case has finally come to its conclusion.  

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The shooting incident occurred on October 21, 2021. More than a year later, Baldwin was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter and firearm enhancement charges in January 2023. 

The second charge was dropped and then, both charges were dismissed altogether in April 2023 as prosecutors at the time cited "new facts in the case." However, in January 2024, a grand jury indicted Baldwin on a new involuntary manslaughter charge which led to the July 2024 trial.  

The Judge stated, "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. 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." 

Due to the back-and-forth nature of the case from the beginning, the question is: Did prosecutors have a strong case against Baldwin to begin with, and with whom did the responsibility of the incident lie? 

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Now that Judge Marlowe Sommer has put an end to this case once and for all, it’ll be interesting to see if there will be changes to Gutirrez-Reed’s sentencing, and if she will be released from prison. 

Baldwin has faced his fair share of legal troubles in the past, but for now, he has a clean slate. 

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