RUST SHOOTING
Could Alec Baldwin go to jail if he is found guilty in the ‘Rust’ manslaughter trial?
Alec Baldwin’s trial in New Mexico over involuntary manslaughter charges is set to begin this week with questions over his freedom growing.
The trial of actor Alec Baldwin for a manslaughter charge in New Mexico is scheduled to begin this week. Baldwin was charged, for a second time, over the fatal shooting on the set of the movie Rust in October 2021.
The victim was Rust’s Director of Photography, Halyna Hutchins, who also produced and co-wrote the film. She was shot on set when Baldwin accidentally fired a Colt .45 pistol while rehearsing for a gunfight scene. Baldwin claims he was told the gun was not loaded, but while practicing how he was going to draw the weapon, it went off, striking Hutchins in the chest. The confusion over how a fully loaded gun ended up on the set with such little care will be central to Baldwin’s case, as his legal defense will likely try to shift the blame away from their client. The bullet traveled through her body, then hitting the film’s director, Joel Souza, in the shoulder. Hutchins was taken by helicopter to the University of New Mexico hospital in Albuquerque, where she was declared dead. Souza was admitted to a hospital in Santa Fe but was released the following day.
Baldwin had appealed the second round of charges, but on Friday, 28 June, a New Mexico judge denied his petition. Baldwin was initially formally accused of involuntary manslaughter in January 2023 before charges against the actor were dropped in April of that same year.
When will the trial start?
In October 2023, New Mexico prosecutors announced that they planned to present their case to a Santa Fe grand jury to determine whether there was probable cause to charge Baldwin, who was holding the firearm that shot and killed Hutchins, for a second time. New charges were filed based on the second investigation’s findings, which Baldwin’s legal team attempted to challenge by arguing that the state had “intentionally” destroyed evidence that would have been able to exonerate their client.
The judge presiding over the case, Mary Marlowe Sommer, rejected the team’s argument, meaning Baldwin’s trial will begin on 9 July.
How long could he go to prison?
“We look forward to our day in court,” Baldwin’s attorneys said, per NBC News. In New Mexico, a conviction on involuntary manslaughter conviction could lead to a sentence worth up to 18 months in prison.
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