RUST SHOOTING
When does Alec Baldwin’s fatal shooting trial start, and could he go to jail if found guilty?
Baldwin, 65, has had a petition to have charges dismissed relating to the fatal shooting on the set of Rust in 2021, rejected by a New Mexico court.
The actor Alec Baldwin has once again been charged with involuntary manslaughter over a fatal shooting on the set of the movie Rust in 2021. Baldwin had appealed the 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.
When will the trial start?
In October 2023, New Mexico prosecutors had 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 Rust’s Director of Photography, Halyna Hutchins. 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. If he is convicted, he faces up to 18 months in prison.
What happened on the set of Rust in 2021?
Hutchins was killed on 21 October 2021 when Rust star Baldwin, who also produces and co-wrote the film, accidentally fired a Colt .45 pistol while rehearsing for a gunfight scene.
The 65-year-old had been practicing drawing the gun when it went off. The bullet struck Hutchins in the chest, traveled through her body, and hit 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 has insisted that he drew back the hammer but did not pull the trigger and that he was told the firearm was not loaded with live rounds.
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