Alec Baldwin, the actor who, in 2021, infamously shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” with a handgun he did not know was loaded, has now been indicted for a second time over the slaying. Baldwin was originally charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in January of 2023, though those charges were later dropped.
The new charge Baldwin faces over the death of Hutchins is also manslaughter. It was brought on Friday, January 19 of 2024 after grand jurors in New Mexico heard evidence from special prosecutors about the case. The special prosecutors were Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis. This time Baldwin faces just one count of manslaughter.
The legal team for Baldwin, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, said only, “We look forward to our day in court.” Baldwin, if convicted of manslaughter in the case, faces up to 18 months in prison for Hutchins’ slaying with his prop gun. On the other side of things, Gloria Allred, the lawyer for Ms. Hutchins’ family, said, “We are looking forward to the criminal trial which will determine if he should be convicted for the untimely death of Halyna.”
In a statement on the case released last month, the two special prosecutors, Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis, claimed that new facts led them to look at the case again. “After extensive investigation over the past several months, additional facts have come to light that we believe show Mr. Baldwin has criminal culpability in the death of Halyna Hutchins and the shooting of Joel Souza,” they said.
Continuing, the special prosecutors added that the evidence was substantial enough to justify getting the grand jury involved, saying in the statement, “We believe the appropriate course of action is to permit a panel of New Mexico citizens to determine from here whether Mr. Baldwin should be held over for criminal trial.”
During an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, Baldwin insisted that he did not pull the trigger. He said, when asked if he did pull it with the gun pointed at Hutchins, “No, no, no, no, no. I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them. Never. Never. That was the training that I had.”
Stephanopoulos pressed him on that matter after Baldwin’s flat denial, asking, “There are some who say you’re never supposed to point a gun on anyone on a set no matter what.” In response, Baldwin told him, “Unless the person is the cinematographer, who’s directing me at where to point the gun for her camera angle. I didn’t point the gun at her, and she said, ‘Hey, man, don’t point the gun at me.’ I pointed the gun in a direction she wanted.”
Further, when asked if he feels any guilt over Hutchins’ slaying with his prop gun, Baldwin insisted that he does not feel guilt because he is not responsible for her death, saying, “No. No. I feel that someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.”
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