Alec Baldwin broke down in tears as a New Mexico judge dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against the actor on Friday.
Baldwin, 66, faced an unprecedented criminal prosecution as an actor for the on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust in 2021.
Hutchins, who had worked on more than 30 feature-length films, short films, and TV miniseries, was fatally wounded after Baldwin shot a live round from a real gun being used as a movie prop.
The inadvertently loaded live round also injured director Joel Souza.
Alec Baldwin breaks down in tears as judge dismisses involuntary manslaughter charges following Rust shooting
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It is understood the firearm was not properly checked prior to the incident.
The incident marked Hollywood's first on-set shooting in nearly 30 years. According to testimony, Baldwin was directed to point the Pietta .45 Colt revolver at Hutchins as she set up a camera shot during filming southwest of Santa Fe.
Hutchins died at the age of 42 while being transferred to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque.
After three days of hearings, the New Mexico district court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer agreed with Baldwin’s lawyers that prosecutors and police withheld evidence on the source of the live round and dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against the actor.
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Alec Baldwin hugs his attorney Alex Spiro at the conclusion of Baldwin's trial at Santa Fe County District Court in Santa Fe, New Mexico
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Breaking down in tears, the multiple Emmy-award-winning actor hugged his wife Hilaria Baldwin as other family members wept in the public gallery.
Baldwin’s lawyers said prosecutors dragged him through a “cesspool of improprieties.”
Baldwin and his family left court without speaking to reporters.
“The state's withholding of the evidence was wilful and deliberate,” Sommer said in delivering her decision.
“Dismissal with prejudice is warranted to ensure the integrity of the judicial system and the efficient administration of justice.”
Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria Baldwin embrace following the dismissal
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The actor's lawyer Alex Spiro told the court that the Santa Fe sheriff's office took possession of live rounds in March as evidence in the case but failed to list them in the ‘Rust’ investigation file or disclose their existence to defense lawyers.
“The real reason you didn't inventory that evidence is because it could have jeopardized the law enforcement case,” Spiro told Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office Corporal Alexandria Hancock, the lead investigator on the ‘Rust’ case, in cross-examination on Friday.
Erlinda Johnson, one of the state prosecutors on the case, resigned on Friday, the fourth prosecutor to quit or be forced to step down.
“I did not intend to mislead the court,” lead state prosecutor Kari Morrissey said after taking the unusual step of defending herself from the witness stand.
“My understanding of what was dropped off at the sheriff's office is on this computer screen and it looks absolutely nothing like the live rounds from the set of Rust.”
Many legal analysts said the case should never have been brought to trial by the Santa Fe County District Attorney's Office.
“The prosecution felt it had to cheat to get the result it wanted,” said legal analyst Duncan Levin, a New York defence attorney. “This is the worst of our system on display.”