The ongoing trial against Alec Baldwin for the manslaughter of a camerawoman has surprisingly been dropped. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer granted the request of the Hollywood star’s lawyers on Friday (local time). The actor reacted accordingly emotionally.
Defense attorneys had accused prosecutors in Santa Fe, New Mexico, of misconduct. The judge justified the decision by saying evidence had been deliberately withheld from the defense.
Baldwin burst into tears in the courtroom. There were emotional scenes. The actor hugged his lawyers and his wife Hilaria Baldwin, who was also present in the courtroom. He left the building a free man a short time later.
Baldwin is charged with involuntary manslaughter
The trial, which has been ongoing since Tuesday, concerned whether the 66-year-old actor acted negligently in the fatal shooting of a camerawoman on the set of the 2021 western “Rust” and should therefore go to prison.
Moment of relief for Alec Baldwin:
Lead actor Baldwin pulled out a revolver during rehearsals, at the director’s request. But instead of harmless blanks, live ammunition was released. A bullet fatally wounded camerawoman Halyna Hutchins (42). Director Joel Souza was wounded by the same bullet. If found guilty, Baldwin could face up to 18 months in prison.
Evidence was withheld
Baldwin’s lawyers now claim that the prosecution withheld key evidence from them, including a batch of cartridges that turned up a few months ago and were presented to the judge in an envelope in court on Friday.
From the defense’s perspective, the cartridges should have been part of the ballistics examination earlier — but the prosecution concealed them, the New York Times explained Baldwin’s lawyers’ argument. It represents a significant procedural error on the state’s part not to make potentially new evidence available to the defense.
Baldwin does not claim he pulled the trigger
The lawyers argued that the cartridges were evidence that the bullet that killed Hutchins came from Seth Kenney, the film’s prop supplier. Kenney denied supplying live ammunition for production and was not charged in the case. He was expected to testify against Baldwin.
Baldwin, 66, has repeatedly maintained his innocence and claims he did not pull the trigger on the gun.
Source: Krone
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