Alec Baldwin has been exonerated of criminal charges related to a fatal on-set shooting that occurred during the filming of Rust in New Mexico in October 2021. The Emmy-award winning actor was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter over the incident, which resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Baldwin’s lawyer, Luke Nikas, has expressed his pleasure with the decision to dismiss the case against his client and has called for a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of the tragedy. Baldwin had denied pulling the trigger of the prop gun, although an FBI report later concluded that it could not have been fired without the trigger being pulled.
The decision to drop the charges came less than two weeks before a trial was set to begin, and on the same day that Rust resumed filming – 18 months after the shooting. The armourer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, is still facing two counts of involuntary manslaughter, but her lawyer has expressed confidence that she will be exonerated as well.
Prosecutors had recently learned that the gun used in the shooting, a .45 Colt revolver, had been modified with a new trigger in a way that could have made a misfire more likely. They had accused Baldwin of showing a “reckless” disregard for the safety of his colleagues, but in order to have been found guilty they would have had to convince a jury that he had acted with “criminal negligence”. If convicted, he could have faced up to 18 months in prison.
The Santa Fe district attorney had initially added a firearm enhancement charge, which could have added five years to his sentence. However, this was dropped after prosecutors determined that the enhancement law was not in place at the time of the shooting.
New rules on the set of Rust now bar any use of working weapons and any form of ammunition. Live ammunition is – and always was – prohibited on set. Baldwin is currently filming Rust on location in Montana and Hutchins’ widower, Matthew, will be an executive producer. The scene that was being rehearsed when Hutchins was shot has also been rewritten.
Baldwin last October reached a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Hutchins’ family. His exoneration from criminal charges brings some closure to this tragic incident.