A New Mexico grand jury indicted Alec Baldwin today on an involuntary manslaughter charge for the 2021 accidental killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust. This comes nine months after the original case against him was dismissed, and could land the 65-year-old actor a prison sentence of up to 18 months if convicted.
From The New York Times:
The indictment, which came exactly one year after the first involuntary manslaughter case against him was announced, was the latest reversal of fortune for Mr. Baldwin. The local district attorney's initial case fell apart and the initial charge against Mr. Baldwin was dismissed in April. But a new prosecution team, Kari T. Morrissey and Jason J. Lewis, decided to present the case to a grand jury, which indicted Mr. Baldwin on Friday. …
Mr. Baldwin — who both starred in and was a producer of "Rust," a western — has maintained that he was not responsible for the death of the cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, saying that he was told the gun did not contain any live rounds and that there was not supposed to be any live ammunition at all on the set. He has also maintained that he did not pull the trigger when the gun fired, although a forensic report commissioned by the prosecution determined that he must have pulled the trigger for it to go off, contributing to their decision to revive the criminal case. …
The indictment charged Mr. Baldwin with two different counts of involuntary manslaughter, but he can only be convicted of one. The more serious one, a felony, accuses him of "total disregard or indifference for the safety of others," while the other accuses him of the negligent use of a firearm. …
The movie's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for weapons and ammunition on the set of the film, also faces an involuntary manslaughter charge. She pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to stand trial in February.
"Someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn't even supposed to be on the property," Baldwin said in a 2021 ABC interview (see below) about a month after the shooting. In the interview, he described himself as "angry" and "sad," but not "guilty."
"Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can't say who that is," he continued. "But I know it's not me."
