Alec Baldwin Indicted on Involuntary Manslaughter Charge in ‘Rust’ Shooting (original) (raw)
Arts|Alec Baldwin Is Charged, Again, With Involuntary Manslaughter
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/19/arts/alec-baldwin-charged-involuntary-manslaughter.html
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Alec Baldwin Is Charged, Again, With Involuntary Manslaughter
A grand jury in New Mexico indicted the actor in the shooting death of the cinematographer on the film “Rust,” months after the original case against him was dismissed.
Alec Baldwin rehearsing shortly before the fatal shooting on the set of “Rust,” in a still taken from a video released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office. Credit...The New York Times
Jan. 19, 2024
A grand jury in New Mexico indicted Alec Baldwin on Friday on a charge of involuntary manslaughter, reviving the criminal case against him in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the film “Rust” more than two years ago when a gun he was rehearsing with went off.
The indictment, which came exactly one year after the first involuntary manslaughter case against him was announced, was the latest reversal of fortune for Mr. Baldwin. The local district attorney’s initial case fell apart and the initial charge against Mr. Baldwin was dismissed in April. But a new prosecution team, Kari T. Morrissey and Jason J. Lewis, decided to present the case to a grand jury, which indicted Mr. Baldwin on Friday.
In New Mexico, an involuntary manslaughter conviction on a charge like the one Mr. Baldwin faces can carry up to 18 months in prison.
“We look forward to our day in court,” Mr. Baldwin’s lawyers, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, said in a statement on Friday.
Mr. Baldwin — who both starred in and was a producer of “Rust,” a western — has maintained that he was not responsible for the death of the cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, saying that he was told the gun did not contain any live rounds and that there was not supposed to be any live ammunition at all on the set. He has also maintained that he did not pull the trigger when the gun fired, although a forensic report commissioned by the prosecution determined that he must have pulled the trigger for it to go off, contributing to their decision to revive the criminal case.
For months, the possibility of a new indictment has hung over Mr. Baldwin, 65, who has rarely been one to maintain a low profile. As prosecutors prepared to bring their case before the grand jury, the actor made a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” drew headlines following a heated exchange with a protester at a pro-Palestinian demonstration, and posted frequently on Instagram about politics and his family. But there have been signs that Mr. Baldwin, who has said in court papers that the case has made it harder for him to get acting work, may be facing financial pressures: He recently put his 10,000-square-foot home in the Hamptons on the market for $19 million, appearing in a real estate advertisement for the property.
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