All charges against Alec Baldwin in the case of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins‘ death on the set of Rust are about to be dropped, if reports coming out of New Mexico are to be believed.
According to Deadline, special prosecutors Jason Lewis and Kari Morrissey will be filing very soon to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin. Despite this development, it appears that his co-defendant Hannah Gutierrez-Reed still has the charges filed against her. Gutierrez-Reed was the armorer on set of the movie Rust when the deadly shooting took place.
Both defendants previously pleaded not guilty.
Though these charges against Baldwin have been dropped, there is still a chance that prosecutors will return to this case as their investigation continues.
“We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin, and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident,” Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, Baldwin’s attorneys, said in a statement.
Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were originally charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in January, though the charges were later downgraded, saving the defendants from a potential five-year prison sentence.
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Baldwin has maintained that he did not pull the trigger on the prop gun that fateful day on set. In his first interview after the shooting, he said, “I would never point a gun at anyone and then pull the trigger, never. Someone put a live bullet in the gun, a bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property.”
In a surprising move, Hutchins’ widow Matthew Hutchins is expected to join the film as an executive producer following the settlement her estate reached in October 2022 with Baldwin and Rust Movie Productions LLC.
“I have no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame (to the producers or Mr. Baldwin),” Hutchins said in the settlement announcement. “All of us believe Halyna’s death was a terrible accident. I am grateful that the producers and the entertainment community have come together to pay tribute to Halyna’s final work.”
Hutchins will also be executive producing a documentary about his wife’s life and work.
Rust is expected to resume production this week, possibly as soon as tomorrow. The scene in which Baldwin was rehearsing when the gun went off has since been rewritten as production geared up to return to filming.
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