Alec Baldwin.Photo: Courtesy of Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office
On Friday,Alec Baldwinwasindicted on involuntary manslaughter chargesin connection with thefatal 2021 shooting on the set ofRust.
But those following the tragic death of cinematographerHalyna Hutchinsmay be puzzled: How is Baldwin, 65, heading to court again after involuntary manslaughtercharges were brought against himin January 2023 anddropped three months later?
Baldwin was holding a prop gun during rehearsals on the set when it discharged, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. With the new indictment from a New Mexico grand jury, theWestern movie’s producer and star faces up to 18 months in prison, according toThe New York Times.
Special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis dropped initial charges against Baldwin in April citing “new facts” in the case, and said at the time they reserved the right to recharge him. Theyannouncedin October, “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.”
ExpertKate Mangels, a criminal defense attorney based in Southern California, tells PEOPLE about why that grand jury — upon seeing such new facts — decided to again determine whether Baldwin’s involvement in the incident deserves a criminal trial.
(Left to right:) Halyna Hutchins, Alec Baldwin and Joel Souza.getty (3)
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What’s the latest update on theRustshooting case?
An attorney for Hutchins' family,Gloria Allred, said in response to Friday’s indictment, “The grand jury has decided that there is sufficient evidence to indict Alec Baldwin on the charge of involuntary manslaughter. We are looking forward to the criminal trial which will determine if he should be convicted for the untimely death of Halyna.”
A grand jury, she continues, is “impaneled or chosen to hear charges or potential charges, and they hear from the prosecution and from potential witnesses. They don’t hear from defense attorneys. So it’s not a fully adversarial process the same way a trial is.”
All the New Mexico grand jury needs to determine in this case, Mangels says, is whether “there’s sufficient evidence to hold someone to these charges, not that there’s enough evidence to convict someone of these charges.”
In addition, Baldwin’s new indictment includes “two counts that can be tried — one or the other, not both,” says Mangels.
Both counts are considered “different theories of involuntary manslaughter,” she explains: negligent use of a firearm, and involuntary manslaughter without due caution or circumspection. “The grand jury is sort of putting it to the people, to the prosecution, saying it’s up to you to determine which you want to charge him on.”
Alec Baldwin in 2023.Elder Ordonez/SplashNews
Elder Ordonez/SplashNews
Why is Baldwin being charged again?
“Part of what the new evidence that the public is aware of is that there was a test done on a firearm, and it was a partially original, partially reconstructed firearm,” Mangels tells PEOPLE. “Based on that new evidence, the new prosecution team felt like there was sufficient evidence to recharge him.”
It’s likely that mistakes or inconsistencies in the firearm’s testing “will be a major sticking point in the trial,” she adds. “Baldwin’s defense attorneys will focus on the fact that it was a partially reconstructed gun, focus on whatever discrepancies, if any there are any between the multiple tests, just to sow doubt as to the accuracy of these tests and whether they’re really sufficient to determine the ultimate issue of whether or not a trigger was pulled.”
What happens now?
Although “the answer is always that it’s impossible to predict,” Mangels has theories about what attorneys on both sides of this case will focus on should Baldwin appear in court.
However, don’t be surprised if the case’s next developments are Baldwin’s legal team attempting to prevent that appearance in the first place. “I think that Alec Baldwin’s attorneys will make every effort to get rid of this case in some sort of preliminary motions prior to it even going to trial,” says Mangels.
Alec Baldwin on the set of “Rust”.Splash/Backgrid / SplashNews.com
But if the case does proceed to trial, discussions will likely center on the gun and its subsequent forensic reporting. Baldwin’s side will “focus on the insufficiency of the evidence, particularly in the testing,” theorizes Mangels.
Another factor that makes this case noteworthy is thatRust’s armorer,Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was also previously charged with involuntary manslaughter. She has pled not guilty and is scheduled to stand trial in February in a separate case.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.TheImageDirect.com
If Baldwin is tried and acquitted, could he be indicted again?
One of the few certainties with this case, according to Mangels, is that if the30 RockEmmy winner is tried in court and found not guilty, new manslaughter charges can’t be brought as “that brings up constitutional issues with double jeopardy.”
There is a statute of limitations on criminal charges that means prosecutors “can’t keep doing this forever,” says Mangels. “You can’t be tried for the same charge twice. The reason that they were able to bring new charges here is because of the additional evidence and because he wasn’t ever brought to trial on these charges.”
Afterresuming production onRustin Montana in April 2023, Baldwin announced the film hadwrappedthe following month.
source: people.com
