The evidence that freed Alec Baldwin at trial: evidence and non-disclosures

Alec Baldwin has been free after First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer decided to dismiss the case for involuntary manslaughter.

The judge agreed with the actor’s defense attorneys, who argued that prosecutors hid evidence of ammunition that could be related to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie ‘Rust’ in 2021.

“The sanction of dismissal is the only warranted remedy” in the case, the judge said, according to an NBC News report. Baldwin reportedly sobbed and put his hands to his face when Sommer announced his decision.

The evidence to dismiss the case against Baldwin

The Hollywood star's legal team accused prosecutors of hiding evidence related to ammunition that a crime scene technician received following the trial of gunsmith Hannah Gutiérrez-Reed, who was found guilty of manslaughter in April in connection with the shooting on the set of 'Rust'.

In this regard, Marissa Poppell, the crime scene technician for the sheriff’s office, who was one of the prosecution’s witnesses, stated that the bullets were not hidden from Baldwin’s lawyers. She also denied that the .45 Colt ammunition matched the bullet that killed Hutchins.

These .45 Colt bullets were delivered to the sheriff's office in March by former police officer Troy Teske, a friend of Thell Reed, stepfather of the 'Rust' gunsmith. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the same day she was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins' death. Prosecutors described Teske as a “good Samaritan.”

Gutiérrez-Reed was sentenced to 18 months in prison, but the dismissal of Baldwin's case could lead to her conviction being overturned.

For her part, Kari Morrissey, the special prosecutor in the case, said that the ammunition in dispute was not linked to the case nor was it hidden from Baldwin’s lawyers. In addition, she argued that the bullets were not from the same size or composition as the real bullets recovered from the film set.

What happened in October 2021 on the set of 'Rust'

The cinematographer for the film ‘Rust’, Halyna Hutchins, died on October 21, 2021 after the film’s actor and producer, Alec Baldwin, accidentally shot her with a prop firearm on the recording set.

Reports indicate that Baldwin fired a prop gun during rehearsal for a scene for the film. The actor had been practicing drawing his gun from its holster when a bullet from the revolver passed through director Joel Souza's shoulder and hit Hutchins in the chest.

Halyna was transported by helicopter to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead, while the director was only hospitalized and discharged a few hours later.

Alec Baldwin had pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charges brought against him. Since 2021, the actor has maintained that he did not pull the trigger of the gun before it fired off a bullet. Additionally, he insists that before receiving the gun, he was told that the gun was “cold,” that is one without live ammunition. He has also noted that he was only following instructions when he aimed at Hutchins.