The criminal case prosecutors are filing against Alec Baldwin will turn on the same question that has dogged the actor since the day he shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of the film “Rust”: Is he responsible for her death?
Under New Mexico’s involuntary manslaughter laws, Baldwin could face up to five years in prison if a jury finds criminal negligence in his accidental firing of a vintage Colt revolver during the setup of a camera angle in October 2021.
Jurors will have to weigh whether he “should have known of the danger involved” when he pointed a loaded gun at Hutchins or “acted with a willful disregard for the safety of others.”
