A New Mexico judge has upheld her decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against actor Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film 'Rust.' State District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case halfway through a trial in July due to evidence withholding by police and prosecutors.
The charge against Baldwin was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be revived after any appeals are exhausted. Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey recently requested the judge to reconsider, arguing insufficient facts and no violation of Baldwin's due process rights.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer of 'Rust,' was involved in the shooting incident during a rehearsal where a gun he was holding went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin claimed he did not pull the trigger, but the gun fired.
The case-ending evidence was live ammunition brought to the sheriff's office by a man in March, which prosecutors initially deemed unrelated. However, Baldwin's lawyers argued that the evidence was crucial and successfully moved to dismiss the case.
Judge Marlowe Sommer cited 'egregious discovery violations constituting misconduct' by law enforcement and prosecutors, along with false testimony about physical evidence during the trial, as reasons for dismissing the case.
Defense attorneys highlighted that prosecutors failed to provide Baldwin with all requested evidence, including the live ammunition found on set. The movie's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, is currently serving an 18-month sentence for involuntary manslaughter due to safety protocol violations.
Assistant director David Halls pleaded no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon and received six months of unsupervised probation. A no contest plea is treated as an admission of guilt for sentencing purposes.
