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.
It has been a long road to trial since the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot during production of the movie Rust on 21 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, but 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, New Mexico, 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 last month, 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. But 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”.
In March, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, Rust’s chief weapons handler, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, sentenced in April to 18 months in prison. In her trial, prosecutors argued the armorer had failed to follow basic safety protocols and had put dummy rounds and at least one live round into the prop weapon.
“You alone turned a safe weapon into a lethal weapon,” Sommer said at sentencing. “But for you Ms Hutchins would be alive, a husband would have his partner and a little boy would have his mother.”
The conviction was a major victory for prosecutors, but it could also make it harder to win a second guilty verdict against another defendant, said Anna Cominsky, director of the Criminal Defense Clinic at New York Law School.
“She was the one designated as being responsible for the firearms on set, and a jury found her guilty,” the law professor said. “I foresee Baldwin is going to point the finger at her – this was the professional who was supposed to be checking the gun. I think it’s going to be difficult for the prosecutor to overcome that.”
There’s no question the fatal shooting was unintentional, so prosecutors will have to make a compelling case that Baldwin’s negligent actions led to the death, said Joshua Kastenberg, criminal law professor at the University of New Mexico and a former prosecutor: “If you’re going to find someone guilty of criminal negligence, you have to prove the [defendant] owns the negligence almost in its entirety, and that’s difficult in a case where there was more than one participant. And a jury already found someone else guilty.”
Baldwin’s past comments and his reputation, however, could cause him trouble. In an April filing, the prosecutor Kari Morrissey accused the actor of being reckless during filming, writing: “To watch Mr Baldwin’s conduct on the set of Rust is to witness a man who has absolutely no control of his own emotions and absolutely no concern for how his conduct affects those around him. Witnesses have testified that it was this exact conduct that contributed to safety compromises on set.”
Baldwin’s producer role could also help the prosecution build its negligence case. Records released by the local sheriff’s department revealed Baldwin made dismissive comments to a detective, saying that all film productions seek to cut costs and that it’s not the job of actors to check guns.
Baldwin also tried to clear his name in a national television interview with George Stephanopoulos, but the prosecutor Mary Carmack-Altwies told the New York Times that he appeared unrepentant and dishonest, implying the media appearance motivated her office to move forward with its case.
The attorney Gloria Allred, who represents Hutchins’ parents and sister, said they could not leave Ukraine due to the war and would not be attending the trial: “They want to know the truth of what happened to their beloved daughter and sister. And they do believe they will learn more in the upcoming trial. They also believe that everyone who had a role in causing Halyna’s death should be held responsible.”
At Gutierrez-Reed’s sentencing, Allred shared a statement from Hutchins’ father, Anatolii Androsovych, who said: “I do not wish for revenge but believe that each person responsible for the death of my Halyna needs to carry the punishment that is equal to their guilt. Maybe, just maybe, this might prevent the same types of tragedies in the future to others and spare other parents from such a heart-wrenching catastrophe.”
The prosecutors and Baldwin’s lawyers declined to comment.
Last month, Baldwin and his wife, Hilaria, announced a new reality show following their family for TLC.
Baldwin faces up to 18 months in prison. Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
