On Oct. 21, 2021, Halyna Hutchins and Joel Souza were shot with a gun being held by Alec Baldwin on the New Mexico set of Rust. Hutchins died from the gunshot, and Souza survived. Baldwin has maintained this entire time that he had no idea the gun was loaded, that he was told that the gun was “cold,” and that he doesn’t even believe that he pulled the trigger. While I’ve always believed that Baldwin and several others on Rust were criminally negligent, I never believed that Baldwin had any intention to harm anyone. It was an accident fueled by misinformation, professional incompetence and negligence. Still, back in January (almost three months ago exactly), a New Mexico prosecutor charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter. Now those charges have been dropped.
New Mexico prosecutors are dropping the involuntary manslaughter charges that were filed against Alec Baldwin for the 2021 shooting death of a cinematographer who was killed on the set of the film “Rust” when a gun he was practicing with went off, his lawyers said.
The decision to drop the charges came after a new team of prosecutors took over the case and reviewed new evidence that showed that the gun Mr. Baldwin was practicing with had been modified before it was delivered to the set, according to an official close to the investigation who was granted anonymity to discuss the case. That undercut the prosecution’s original argument that the gun could not have fired unless Mr. Baldwin had pulled the trigger, the official said.
Mr. Baldwin, who was told on the set that day that the gun did not contain any live ammunition, has maintained from the beginning that he did not pull the trigger before the gun fired, telling investigators that it went off after he had pulled the hammer back and let it go. But the original prosecutors had said that an F.B.I. analysis of the gun showed that he must have pulled the trigger, which contributed to their decision to bring charges.
In a statement, Mr. Baldwin’s lawyers, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, said, “We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident.”
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer, who loaded the gun the day of the shooting and was responsible for weapons on the set of the western, was also charged with involuntary manslaughter in the case. One of her lawyers, Jason Bowles, said that he had been informed of the prosecutors’ decision to dismiss the case against Mr. Baldwin, but that the charges against Ms. Gutierrez-Reed remained.
“The charges against Ms. Gutierrez-Reed remained…” Good. By almost every account and investigation into the Rust set, Gutierrez-Reed was the main person at fault. She was the armorer, she was the one in charge of all of the weapons, she was in charge of making sure no one handed Alec Baldwin a loaded gun with a literal hair-trigger. As I’ve said several times, I am not claiming that Baldwin should not be criminally or civilly liable for anything – he was a producer on Rust, he was one of the people in charge of the production, he has managerial liability in a general sense. But manslaughter was always a stretch.
So, we aren’t getting a Hilaria Baldwin courtroom telenovela, si? We’ll just have to fondly remember her impromptu, Mexican-accented press conference on the street just after her husband was charged. Alec posted this IG shortly after the news came out (Luke is apparently his lawyer):
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, ABC.
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- (180530) — PARIS, May 30, 2018 () — Peng Shuai of China reacts during the women’s singles first round match against Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia at the French Open Tennis Tournament 2018 in Paris, France on May 29, 2018. Peng Shuai won 2-0. (/Chen Yichen),Image: 515302222, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS excluding China – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chen Yichen / Avalon
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- (180530) — PARIS, May 30, 2018 () — Peng Shuai of China reacts during the women’s singles first round match against Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia at the French Open Tennis Tournament 2018 in Paris, France on May 29, 2018. Peng Shuai won 2-0. (/Chen Yichen),Image: 515302222, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS excluding China – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chen Yichen / Avalon
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- Flushing, NY – US Actor Alec Baldwin watches the Casper Ruud of Norway and Karen Khachanov of Russia match on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Pictured: Alec Baldwin BACKGRID USA 9 SEPTEMBER 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Flushing, NY – US Actor Alec Baldwin watches the Casper Ruud of Norway and Karen Khachanov of Russia match on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Pictured: Alec Baldwin BACKGRID USA 9 SEPTEMBER 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Hilaria Baldwin dons a sweater reading ‘Empathy’ as she heads back home after a trip to the gym. Pictured: Hilaria Baldwin BACKGRID USA 20 JANUARY 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: North Woods / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Actor Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria Baldwin are spotted in New York City on the morning of filing the Involuntary Manslaughter charges against Alec by the New Mexico DA. The couple try to escape the paparazzi frenzy while leaving. Pictured: Alec Baldwin, Hilaria Baldwin BACKGRID USA 31 JANUARY 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
The charges against the armorer are expected to be dropped too. The one who is most culpable, the AD, already took a deal. Charges being dropped was the right outcome, criminally. An overzealous prosecutor wanted to make a name for herself and that other fool wanted to win an election. They tanked their own case by being politically motivated and fame hungry.
The armorer should have been called to set by the AD, but wasn’t. Instead, the AD took the gun himself and said it was “cold.” Everything lies with him.
Agree completely! Also, the armorer was inexperienced only part time armorer and part time props assistant. The producers cut too many corners.
The fact that the crew was allowed to use the guns for target practice is insane. Baldwin is certainly civilly liable and I hope pays through the nose.
I’m no Alec Baldwin fan, not at all, but didn’t see why he’d have been criminally responsible. He had an expert to handle and maintain the weapon and he had no idea. If they want to come and get him in a civil trial then fine but criminal charges should be reserved for those who prepared the gun.
This case will be studied in Torts classes across the country. I’m sure my fellow attorneys will agree that intent is a tricky issue here. For example, he intended to pull the trigger, but was told it was safe. What is the case where the child kicked another child and normally it would have resulted in a bruise but it resulted in a broken bone? Because the child intended to kick though, the intent was satisfied, even though the child didn’t intend to break a bone.
And it wasn’t his job to arm the weapon, so he wasn’t necessarily negligent. His job was to act, not quadruple check that there weren’t live bullets with whoever’s job it was. A very tragic situation for all involved, but I don’t think Baldwin should be held responsible for this. I obviously feel the worst for the victims, but I feel very bad for Baldwin in this. Not saying that he may not have his own faults, but this was just a tragedy.
as an actor, no it wasnt his responsibility
But as a producer, I would think he would be responsible, he was the boss of the armourer and the AD. he had overall responsibility for health and safety procedures
Intent doesn’t come into play in manslaughter cases, though. It becomes whether a reasonable person would have known that taking that action could or would result in the death of another. Even with that low threshold, though, there is no case. He thought it was a prop gun. He was told it was cold. He had no reason to believe he’d hurt anyone under any circumstances.
@Vera, that’s more like a managerial responsibility than anything though. They hired and delegated to an expert in a field but that doesn’t mean management should also be an expert in a field. Now, loading, unloading and checking a gun may be a basic thing sure but an expert was delegated to and trusted. It’s a mistake a lot of people could make. If they cant show that the expert had a history of problems and that management knew about it, I don’t think there’s a conviction. There’s probably still some exposure to a civil lawsuit though, right?
@Peachy – Agreed. I don’t like him as a person, but that doesn’t mean he’s at fault for this. At least criminally. Civilly? As a producer, he may liable.
what about corporate manslaughter?I would assume that should be the main charge
When this happened, I was hopeful that such a tragic, entirely preventable, deadly accident would spark some kind of reform for how weapons are handled on sets. That hasn’t happened.
And I know Hilaria is, how you say, controversial but Alec’s post about her and that picture is very sweet.
I guess. I just feel more the victim and feel like it’s a bit tone deaf. Someone died.
I think it’s gross that Baldwin is going ahead with his big vanity project. Is this movie so brilliant and relevant that it must be made no matter what? Doubtful. And will safety and strict gun handling rules be a priority this time because they sure weren’t the first time. Nor should the armorer be a scapegoat because that whole movie set was a loaded gun.
Well, Hayna Hutchins’ husband was given an executive producer credit on the film as part of his settlement on behalf of him and their child. He stated he wants the movie to be completed.
October 2022 article and Matthew Hutchins’ comments.
https://deadline.com/2022/10/alec-baldwin-rust-halyna-hutchins-settlement-1235135693/
Yeah, I came here to comment on that. Halyna Hutchins’ now widowed husband filed suit against the production and settled for … producer credit on said production? I understand there was money involved too, probably a lot of it, and that seems justified. But producer credit on the film that killed his wife? That seems weirdly grandiose and self-serving to me, as if he thinks this tragedy is going to propel him into the upper echelons of the industry.
That was done to give him some control over what happens on the film. Apparently his rights are spelled out in his producer’s contract. If there are problems with the production going forward and he feels cut out, he can go to the Producer’s Guild.
Typo. My keyboard is sticking. “Halyna.”
No $hit. There were never any grounds to charge him. He didn’t have the intent or “recklessness” necessary. Live guns are not used on sets; he could not have reasonably foreseen that pointing what he thought was a prop gun at someone would result in their death. That’s the legal standard.
I feel sorrier for Gutierrez than I do Baldwin. Because the details of what was going behind the scenes shows how much she was being sabotaged. She was supposed to be on set whenever the guns were in use – but the director barred her from being on the set that day. The bullets that were used that day were bullets she hadn’t been able to verify. They just showed up. The director was actively trying to get her fired. I honestly think this entire thing was about sabotaging HER and it went terribly wrong.
She was being set up. Not for the shooting which obviously no one intended but probably for anything that went wrong. This set was such a chaotic mess that the producers needed a scapegoat. Everything was done on the cheap. Fast and half assed, as my father used to say.
This has probably been explained already. I’m not following that closely. But *someone* brought a live round on set and loaded the gun, which seems like criminal intent (what other outcome could be expected from secretly loading a prop gun?). How is that not the focus?
The guns were being used for target practice during off-times. I think there was a whole crew strike about safety at the time of this tragedy. So it’s probably not that someone maliciously loaded a gun intending for someone to be shot on set, it was just a series of cut corners and carelessness where bullets were not removed from the gun after shooting practice.
Thank you for explaining. That sounds vaguely familiar. Also, one of the dumbest things ever? How did anyone think it was okay to practice target shooting with guns that would later be used a props and pointed at actual people?
Baldwin paid off somebody or more than one somebody.
I would not be surprised. There is a reason something exactly like this hasn’t really happened on a Hollywood film set since Brandon Lee’s death, despite hundreds of movies with heavy gun use having been filmed since that time. There are already strict procedures in place to prevent what happened to Halima. And as part of those procedures, the armourer shows the actor the gun has no live ammo right before scene filming begins. Baldwin with his decades in the industry should know this. Even if it was just a rehearsal, same policy should apply. He was just as negligent. As you said, he likely paid through the nose to make this go away.
Totally agree. Something shady went down