The New Mexico district attorney overseeing the Rust shooting case involving Alec Baldwin said she would follow a judge’s order to step down as a prosecutor.
Baldwin and the movie’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who died after being hit with a live round fired from a prop gun held by Baldwin.
First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies confirmed she was stepping aside from the case Wednesday (29 March) after Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer on Monday said the district attorney should not serve as both co-prosecutor and special prosecutor.
In a statement from her office (via Reuters), Carmack-Altwies named New Mexico attorneys Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis to serve as the new special prosecutors in the case.
Baldwin’s attorney had previously called for Carmack-Altwies to be disqualified from the case, claiming as she was too distracted by her role as a state legislator.
More to follow