Alec Baldwin is heading to trial on Tuesday on involuntary manslaughter charges in a case that will be closely watched by the entertainment industry, the news media, tabloids and legal experts, the Guardian reports. It has been a long road to trial since the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot during production of the movie "Rust" in October 2021, a rare deadly tragedy on set. Prosecutors in Santa Fe will have to overcome numerous hurdles to convince a jury of Baldwin’s criminal negligence in the complex and unusual case. Criminal law scholars say the 66-year-old actor’s previous comments could come back to haunt him.
Baldwin, a lead actor and co-producer on the western film, was rehearsing on the "Rust" set at a ranch in Bonanza City, N.M., when he pointed a firearm at Hutchins. The revolver fired a single bullet that injured the director, Joel Souza, and killed Hutchins, an accomplished cinematographer who was born in Ukraine and considered a rising star in the industry.
Baldwin has argued that he pulled back the hammer of the gun, not the trigger, and that the gun malfunctioned and inadvertently fired. Baldwin had also been told the gun contained no live ammunition, investigators reported. This is the second time Baldwin has faced criminal charges in the case. Prosecutors dismissed a first involuntary manslaughter charge in April of last year, saying they needed more time to investigate. The case was refiled after prosecutors said a forensic analysis of the gun concluded Baldwin must have pulled the trigger for it to fire, contradicting his key defense claim. Lawyers for Baldwin pushed for the case to be dismissed, arguing that FBI testing of the firearm had damaged the weapon before lawyers were able to examine it for possible modifications. The defense team alleged the gun was damaged at the time of the incident and accused prosecutors of withholding potentially “exculpatory evidence." Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer rejected the dismissal request, saying Baldwin’s lawyers had not proven prosecutors acted in bad faith. The judge also said prosecutors would have to disclose to the jury the “destructive nature of the firearm testing, the resulting loss and its relevance and import”.