Breaking: Alec Baldwin Pleads Innocence, Begs Judge to Drop ‘Rust’ Murder Charges!

Alec Baldwin has appealed to a New Mexico judge to drop the involuntary manslaughter charges leveled against him in the fatal shooting incident on the set of the film “Rust”. Baldwin’s lawyers have alleged prosecutorial misconduct in the ongoing case.

In January, a Santa Fe County grand jury charged Baldwin with two counts of involuntary manslaughter related to the accidental death of the film’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, in October 2021. Baldwin, aged 65, could face up to 18 months in prison if convicted.

This Thursday, Baldwin’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss the indictment. In the 52-page document, they outlined a series of supposed prosecutorial errors that they argue compromise Baldwin’s constitutional right to a fair trial. His trial is set to begin on July 10 in a Santa Fe court.

In the motion, Baldwin’s lead lawyer, Luke Nikas, accused Kari T. Morrissey and Jason J. Lewis, special prosecutors, of orchestrating what he called a “sham” grand jury proceeding against Baldwin earlier in the year. Nikas claims that the hearing, held behind closed doors on January 18, was rushed to secure an indictment before the grand jury’s term ended the following day. The defense team alleges that the prosecutors, in their haste, neglected due process, calling only seven witnesses, one of whom was a witness to the shooting.

The motion stated that the grand jurors heard from individuals with unfavorable opinions of Baldwin, including a crew member who has filed a lawsuit against Baldwin and the other producers. The defense team noted that the jury did not hear from several key crew members who were present during the incident and could have provided valuable insights into the production.

The defense motion follows a series of high-profile errors committed last year by the previous team of prosecutors. Among these was charging Baldwin with a crime that did not exist in New Mexico law at the time of the shooting. Morrissey and Lewis took over the case nearly a year ago when the first two prosecutors stepped down.

Baldwin has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges.

Baldwin’s lawyers argue in their motion to dismiss that the prosecutors have displayed misconduct and publicly tarnished Baldwin’s reputation without regard for the fact that he has been living under the cloud of serious criminal charges for two and a half years. They wrote, “Enough is enough. This is an abuse of the system, and an abuse of an innocent person whose rights have been trampled to the extreme.”

Morrissey declined to comment on the motion, stating that a response would be filed with the court later this month.

Earlier this month, Morrissey and Lewis secured a conviction against Hannah Gutierrez, the film’s armorer, who loaded the gun on the day of the incident. After a 10-day trial, a Santa Fe jury found the 26-year-old Arizona woman guilty of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ death. Gutierrez was taken into custody immediately after the verdict; her sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 15.

During Gutierrez’s trial, the prosecutors presented evidence suggesting that Baldwin may also bear some responsibility for the tragedy, accusing him of carelessness in handling his prop gun. In one video shown to the jurors, Baldwin can be seen urging crew members to reload his gun quickly.

In her closing argument, Morrissey told the jury in the Gutierrez case that Baldwin too needs to answer for his actions.

The “Rust” incident sparked a renewed focus on safety measures on film sets, a critical issue for Hollywood film crews.

Just hours before Hutchins’ death, members of the “Rust” camera crew walked off the set in protest over perceived safety issues. The crew members cited accidental gun discharges and a lack of nearby accommodation as their grievances.

The departure of the camera team resulted in a schedule delay on the day of the incident.

After lunch on the day of the incident, Baldwin and Hutchins were rehearsing a scene featuring Baldwin’s character, Harland Rust, drawing his Colt .45 revolver from a shoulder holster while sitting in a church pew. Baldwin has admitted to pointing the revolver at Hutchins, who was standing next to the camera, and cocking the hammer. He was told the gun was “cold”, or empty, but it contained five dummy rounds and one live bullet.

Baldwin has consistently stated that he did not pull the trigger. Hutchins, the cinematographer, was standing about two to three feet away when the gun went off, the bullet striking her in the chest and fatally wounding her. The film’s director, Joel Souza, was also injured in the incident but has since recovered.

A month after the incident, Baldwin told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos: “I didn’t pull the trigger… I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them.”

Baldwin was first charged with involuntary manslaughter in January 2023. At the time, the prosecutors added a “firearm enhancement” charge that carried a mandatory five-year prison sentence. However, this law was not enacted in New Mexico until several months after the shooting. The first two prosecutors resigned from the case a year ago.

Shortly after Morrissey and Lewis took over the prosecution, they dropped the charges against Baldwin “after Baldwin’s counsel proved to them, accurately, that the gun was modified and that the State had overlooked dozens of legal issues and facts,” according to Baldwin’s team’s motion.

At the time, the prosecutors stated that they retained the right to refile the charges.

After the charges were dropped, Baldwin went to Montana to resume filming “Rust”. The film was completed in May. The film’s producers have been in discussions with potential distributors in preparation for the film’s release.

Persistent questions about the condition of the gun at the time of the shooting are expected to pose a challenge for the prosecutors.

Baldwin’s defense team has suggested that the prop gun was defective and may have malfunctioned, causing it to discharge. This theory is anticipated to form a crucial part of Baldwin’s defense if the case goes to trial. His lawyers have cited the gun’s failure during testing to corroborate Baldwin’s account of his role in the fatal shooting.

However, ballistics experts, including one who testified for the prosecution during Baldwin’s grand jury proceeding, have questioned Baldwin’s claims.

An FBI forensic examiner who testified in Gutierrez’s trial stated that the gun, an Italian-made Pietta pistol, a replica of a vintage 1873 model, was in working order when he received it a few months after the incident. The analyst, Bryce Ziegler, said he conducted a series of rigorous tests, including striking Baldwin’s prop gun several times with a “rawhide mallet” to determine whether the gun could discharge without the trigger being pulled.

The gun broke during testing.

Morrissey hired a well-regarded Arizona gun expert, Lucien Haag, to examine the evidence in the case, including the damaged gun.

In his August 2023 report, Haag wrote, “Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.”

After receiving Haag’s report and the behind-the-scenes video from the film production, Morrissey and Lewis changed their approach, deciding last fall to bring Baldwin’s case before the grand jury.