Many questions and the shadow of the law about Alec Baldwin

When the actor Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a scene for the western “Rust” in the middle of the desert landscape in New Mexico (USA) two years ago, no one could have imagined that a tragedy would occur that would eventually become one of the most media cases of recent Hollywood.

It was October 21, 2021, and the performer was rehearsing inside a building that mimicked a 19th-century church with a revolver that was mysteriously loaded with a real bullet. The gun then went off, fatally shooting cameraman Halyna Hutchins in the chest and wounding director Joel Souza in the shoulder.

The authorities Americans are still trying to find out, among other things, what origin from ammunition in that gun and file, known as A case of “rust”.it holds Baldwin himself at stake and anvil, who may face punishment in between 18 and 72 months in prison.

He was the protagonist and producer in this moviebut he repeatedly denied his responsibility in case he claims that it is not his duty check the bullets and that he never pressed triggerbut was fired after pulling the hammer and firing him.

Prosecutor’s office New Mexico he charged him in January involuntary manslaughter for committing “extremely reckless acts,” but the charges were formally dropped in April after an intense fight by his lawyers, who suggested that public workers They acted conditioned by the “high profile” of their client.

When the case seemed to give Baldwin pause, he appointed the First Judicial District of New Mexico new prosecutors and announced this week that a grand jury will consider whether to re-indict the actor after receiving new evidence.

“Prosecutors typically don’t announce that they’re using a grand jury unless they go in with a preconceived idea that they’re going to ask charge. So there’s a good chance it is defendant again, also because only a simple majority of the members is required and because the defense lawyer is not allowed to intervene,” Neama Rahmani, president and co-founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told EFE.

The new clues They probably could have gone in two directions: prove that the revolver cannot be fired without pulling the trigger, which confirms it FBI forensic report published last year; or prove with solvency that conditions of security were not suitable for filming.

“Experts forensics They concluded that it could not have been fired unless the person pulled the trigger, meaning they were lying or didn’t realize they had pulled it. Baldwin probably would have been in a better situation if he had recognized this from the beginning,” Chris Slobogin, a criminal law expert at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, explained to EFE.

Little security, long shoots, alcohol and marijuana

Actually, hours before the start recordings day of tragedyup to six crew members left the set in disagreement because, according to them, the minimum standards for filming scenes involving weapons were not met and because Business trips They were “too long”.

Likewise, the New Mexico Office of Safety and Health presented a report a few months after the event. complaint in which he stated that the directors, including Baldwin as a producer, “showed a blatant indifference” to safety employees and fined them $100.00.

Armourer and person in charge of security protocol during the filming of the movie “Rust”, Hannah Gutierrez-Reedhe is currently charged with manslaughter for failing to check for live ammunition on set.

The prosecution pointed to hypothesis that the oversight could have occurred because Gutiérrez-Reed was “probably hungover.”

“He drank a lot and I smoked marijuana at night during filming”, the prosecutors were convinced during the process, after the collection testimonies various recording of crew members.

For his part, David Hall, the first assistant director and responsible for handing the revolver to Baldwin while shouting “cold gun” (no real bullets), reached a plea deal on one count. careless use of a deadly weapon and avoided prison sentence.

Agreement with the Hutchins family to continue filming

Halyne Hutchins’ immediate family filed a lawsuit in February 2022 for negligence and non-compliance with safety standards against the “Rust” production team, including Alec Baldwin, but to the surprise of many, they announced 8 months later that they had signed an agreement to withdraw.

Since then, Matthew Hutchins, the cinematographer’s widower, has become the executive producer of “Rust,” and filming resumed this year in Mountain (USA), a country that provides important tax exemptions attract filming productions Hollywood.

The economic details from this one agreement were not discovered, but it turned out to be a part economic compensation It will go to Andros Hutchins, Halyn’s son who was 9 years old when she lost her life and who will not be able to receive compensation until he is of age.