Ahead of Opening Statements, Is Alec Baldwin’s Co-Producer Role in Rust Movie Being Considered in Involuntary Manslaughter Trial?
TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains references to death and manslaughter.
Alec Baldwin, a double Emmy winner, just scored a legal win on the eve of his involuntary manslaughter trial for the 2021 death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, who sided with the defense team, rejected the prosecution’s arguments and decided that information about Baldwin’s secondary role in the film would not be admitted into evidence during the trial.
Judge rejects evidence of Alec Baldwin’s role as co-producer calling it irrelevant
Alec Baldwin was precisely aware of his responsibilities on set for safety, according to the special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson, who unsuccessfully urged to accept the evidence.
According to Deadline, Judge Mary Marlowe said, “I find it really difficult to accept the state’s position that they seek to demonstrate that Mr. Baldwin violated regulations in his capacity as a producer, and as an actor, he committed all of the mistakes that led to Ms. Hutchins’ death because, as a producer, he let these things to occur.”
Prosecutors argue that a state workplace safety investigation, which discovered grave infractions on the set, was unreliable, insufficient, and ought not to be allowed to be used in the trial.
What happened on the sets of Rust?
On October 21, 2021, at a rehearsal at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near the New Mexico city, Baldwin’s Colt.45, which he was pointing at the director of photography, fired a live round, killing Hutchins and seriously wounding Rust director Joel Souza.
Baldwin, who entered a not-guilty plea, maintains that he followed instructions to aim the rifle at Hutchins, who was behind the camera, and that this is why the revolver accidentally went off.
Baldwin could face months in prison
Baldwin claimed he pulled back the hammer rather than the trigger, causing the gun to discharge, unaware that it held live ammunition. Baldwin, who has entered a not-guilty plea, may spend as much as eighteen months in prison and thousands of dollars in fines if found guilty in the roughly two-week trial that is scheduled.
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