Alec Baldwin pleads "not guilty" to involuntary manslaughter after fatal shooting on 'Rust' set

Renowned Hollywood actor and producer Alec Baldwin filed a document in which he pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of the movie Rust. This Thursday, the artist asked to be excused from his first court appearance, and instead turned over a court document filed by his attorney in the Santa Fe County (New Mexico) court in which he pleaded"not guilty" to Hutchins' death.

Judge Mary Marlow Sommer accepted the 64-year-old actor's legal appeal, allowing the 30 Rock star to skip the hearing that was scheduled for Friday at noon.

Baldwin has claimed that he never pulled the trigger and that the gun had some defect that caused it to fire on its own and kill the director of photography on the Rust movie set. The actor has also blamed film gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed for being responsible for the safety of the gun that killed Hutchins as well as for possessing a type of bullet banned on film shoots.

Shooting agreement

The actor reached an agreement with the court on the conditions to continue filming the movie Rust, which he stars in and co-produces, in which states that Baldwin agrees not to consume alcohol, carry firearms or devices that can expel a projectile.

Reduction of sentence

Just a few days ago the First District Attorney of the New Mexico Judicial District, Heather Brewer, announced that the prosecution decided to lower the actor's sentence, which means Baldwin will no longer face the possibility of being sentenced to five years in prison.

In fact, should the artist be convicted, he will only spend 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter, since the firearm enhancement charge, which carried the most time in prison, was dropped.

"In order to avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys, the District Attorney and the special prosecutor have removed the firearm enhancement to the involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the Rust film set. The prosecution’s priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys," a statement said.