Alec Baldwin charged with involuntary manslaughter again over fatal Rust shooting and faces 18 months in jail
19 January 2024, 21:13 | Updated: 19 January 2024, 21:17
Alec Baldwin has been recharged with involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western film in 2021.
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Baldwin, a co-producer of the film, Rust was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the set outside Santa Fe when it went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.
Special prosecutors brought the case before a grand jury in Santa Fe this week, several months after they got a new analysis of the gun.
If convicted, Baldwin could face 18 months behind bars.
Baldwin's lawyers told reporters they would fight the charges. "We look forward to our day in court," Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said in a statement.
Baldwin, the lead actor and a co-producer on Rust, was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on set in October 2021 when the gun went off.
Baldwin said he pulled back the hammer - but not the trigger - and the gun fired.
Two of the witnesses seen at the Santa Fe courthouse included crew members. One of them was on set when the fatal shot was fired, and another had walked off the set the day before because of safety concerns.
Judges recently agreed to pause hold several civil lawsuits seeking compensation from Baldwin and producers of Rust. Some of the people bringing those cases are members of the film's crew.
Special prosecutors in April initially dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin, saying they were informed the gun might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned.
They later pivoted and began weighing up whether to refile a charge against Baldwin after receiving a new analysis of the gun.
The gun analysis stated that although 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".
The weapons supervisor on the set, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the case.
Her trial is scheduled to begin in February.
Rust assistant director and safety co-ordinator David Halls pleaded no contest to a conviction for unsafe handling of a firearm in March and received a suspended sentence of six months of probation.
He agreed to co-operate in the investigation of the shooting.
Following the incident, there were several civil lawsuits centred on accusations that the defendants were lax with safety standards, which Baldwin and other defendants have disputed.
The cases included wrongful death claims filed by Ms Hutchins' family.
