Actor Alec Baldwin faces involuntary manslaughter charges over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal for the movie Rust. Hutchins died in 2021 after being shot by a gun the actor was holding.
A New Mexico grand jury decided to indict him this Friday. If convicted, Baldwin could spend up to 18 months in prison. Although the case had been dismissed in April, a new forensic report appears to indicate that Baldwin would have had to pull the trigger for the gun to fire.
#ÚLTIMAHORA | Alec Baldwin es acusado por un gran jurado de matar a tiros a una directora de fotografía en el set de una película. pic.twitter.com/qLhWB1dow0
— VOZ (@VozMediaUSA) January 19, 2024
Special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis presented evidence against the actor. On the defense side, attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said they were "looking forward to our day in court," in statements reported by ABC News.
Baldwin always pleaded not guilty, both in court and in front of the media.
Alec Baldwin's fatal incident
The actor was filming the movie Rust in October 2021, a movie starring Travis Fimmel, Frances Fisher and Jensen Ackles.
During one scene, Baldwin was pointing a gun at Halyna Hutchins, the director of photography, when the gun in question went off, killing her. Director Joel Souza was also injured in the incident.
According to the actor, he had been told that the gun wasn't loaded. He claims to have not pulled the trigger either.
BREAKING: A new indictment against Alec Baldwin re: Rust movie shooting includes two new involuntary manslaughter charges for negligent use of a firearm and without due caution or circumspection. Both are 4th degree felonies. His previous criminal charge was dropped April 2023. pic.twitter.com/UEmE48Nzrl
— Alex Caprariello (@alcaprari23) January 19, 2024
Both he and the person responsible for setting up the recording set, Hannah Gutiérrez-Reed, were charged in January 2023 with involuntary manslaughter, although the cases were dropped in April 2023.
At the time, prosecutors in the case argued that "this decision does not absolve Mr. Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled."
However, in January 2024, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey filed new felony charges based on additional testimony given to the grand jury by seven witnesses listed in the indictment.
"I feel that someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me," Baldwin said in an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in December 2021.
A date for the new trial has not yet been set.
The future of Rust
After more than two years on hiatus, the movie resumed filming in 2023 thanks to an agreement with the director of photography's widower, Matthew Hutchins, which made him executive producer.
The Rust Movie Productions company had to pay a fine of $100,000 to state safety regulators at the time.
