Alec Baldwin Woke Up Free From Manslaughter Allegations
The involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin following the fatal incident on the set of Rust has been dropped. The actor
Victoria Liotta
The involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin following the fatal incident on the set of Rust has been dropped. The actor was facing two counts of the charge after holding a prop weapon that unknowingly has real bullets on the inside. When the prop went off the bullets fired killing cinematographer Haylna Hutchins and director Joel Souza (in 2021). The production had since been on hold however, it’s scheduled to resume this week in Montana with Hutchin’s husband, Matthew, serving as an executive producer in honor of his late wife.
Alec Baldwin Is Free (Well, For Now)
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Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, attorneys for Baldwin, 65, said in a statement to the media on Thursday, April 20, “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.”
However, the prosecutors, Kari T. Morrissey and Jason J. Lewis released a statement later in the day in reference to the charges being dropped which insisted that Baldwin might not be totally free from charges just yet.
They shared, “Over the last few days and in preparation for the May 3, 2023, preliminary hearing, new facts were revealed that demand further investigation and forensic analysis in the case against Alexander “Alec” Rae Baldwin, III.”
Continuing, “Consequently, we cannot proceed under the current time constraints and on the facts and evidence turned over by law enforcement in its existing form. We therefore will be dismissing the involuntary manslaughter charges against Mr. Baldwin to conduct further investigation. This decision does not absolve Mr. Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled. Our follow-up investigation will remain active and on-going.”
The Backstory If You Missed It
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At the time of the incident, Baldwin expressed his heartbreak over the loss of Hutchins on Twitter. He wrote, “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occured and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.
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Unfortunately, incidences like this are more common than we think, and shooting blanks can be just as dangerous and fatal as actual bullets.
Daniel Oates, a former police chief of Miami Beach and Aurora, Colorado explained “They all contain a charge, a powder that creates the noise and the explosive, the visual blast, and usually it’s some kind of wire or something that explodes out of the weapon when it’s fired.” He continued, “These weapons can be very, very dangerous.”
“In this case it was a blank firing weapon. And, with that there are inherent risk,” Fisher explained to CNN. He shared “Prop weapons do have a dangerous factor to them even though they’re a lot safer than using a live firearm on set.” Fisher went into detail describing, “Typical prop load will be about 25-50% of the gun powder in an actual projectile load that would be used in a regular weapon. With that in mind, there has to be safety precautions, there has to be safety distances. And, at some point those were not followed.”
Fisher went on to explain that within just 25-50 feet the projectiles released can cause physical injury. “Any time you’re dealing with a gunpowder load, which is what’s in a prop weapon that fires blanks, you’re gonna have gas, you’re gonna heave heat, you’re gonna have air coming out of it. Even though there’s no actual physical projectile mounted on the the front of that weapon, there is projectiles that do come out,” says Fisher.
As the investigation continues this story will be updated.