Alec Baldwin’s Trial Concludes with a Hollywood-Style Twist

When Alec Baldwin set out to make the western Rust in 2021, it was a passion project for the veteran actor. He co-created the story, served as a producer, and starred as the film’s lead, Harland Rust, an outlaw with a bounty on his head.

Nearly three years later, the 66-year-old found himself as a criminal defendant, standing trial in New Mexico for involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the film’s set.

As Baldwin entered a Santa Fe courtroom on Wednesday, the day the trial began, he faced the prospect of 18 months in prison. By the week’s end, in a dramatic twist, he walked out a free man after a judge found that the prosecution and law enforcement had intentionally withheld evidence that could have been favorable to the actor.

The prosecution’s case collapsed within hours on Friday. A witness testified that Kari Morrissey, a special prosecutor leading the state’s case against Baldwin, was directly involved in a decision to keep potentially crucial evidence separate from the Rust case. Another special prosecutor resigned suddenly in the middle of the day, and Morrissey called herself to the stand as a witness.

By the end of the day, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer concluded that the state had withheld information in an “intentional and deliberate” manner. Baldwin wept. Hilaria Baldwin, his wife, covered her face and then hugged his attorneys.

This shocking end to a high-stakes case, closely watched by the film industry and documented by journalists around the world, even surprised seasoned legal observers. “It was stunning to see the prosecution fall apart so quickly. One of the special prosecutors bolted before the judge could even make her decision,” said Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and president of Los Angeles-based West Coast Trial Lawyers.

“It’s one of the most botched prosecutions in American history. It should be taught in school as an example of how not to bring a case.”

Friday’s dramatic turn of events capped a trial that seemed like a film script – a star accused of acting recklessly with a firearm on set, causing the death of a crew member, with a famous audience in the form of Baldwin’s actor brother and influencer wife, constant battles between the prosecution and defense, and grueling cross-examinations.

Throughout the past week, Baldwin, bespectacled and stooped, shuffled into the Santa Fe courthouse each day with his wife, sitting alongside his high-profile legal team for proceedings that were livestreamed and viewed worldwide.

The potential repercussions for Baldwin were very real – being found criminally liable for causing the death of 42-year-old Hutchins and facing up to 18 months in prison. A guilty verdict could have had lasting effects in the film industry.

A jury was seated on Tuesday, and proceedings kicked off on Wednesday. Inside the courtroom, the prosecution and defense presented very different versions of the events of October 21, 2021. The Rust crew was rehearsing at Bonanza Creek Ranch, a popular movie set about 30 minutes from Santa Fe, when a gun Baldwin was holding fired a single round of live ammunition, striking Hutchins and the director, Joel Souza.

The bullet entered Hutchins’ right underarm and perforated her right lung before traveling through the spine and lacerating her spinal cord, the prosecution told the jury in opening statements. Hutchins was transported via helicopter to a nearby hospital, where she died.

The aftermath was captured via body-camera footage from a New Mexico sheriff’s deputy who responded to the incident and testified in court this week. The footage showed medics’ desperate efforts to save Hutchins, who lay on the floor with her arm over her face.

The prosecution portrayed Baldwin as a reckless and arrogant actor who repeatedly mishandled firearms on set, breaking the “cardinal rules of firearm safety” by leaving his finger on the hammer and trigger and pointing it at people on set while filming.

The defense countered by portraying Baldwin as an actor focused on his job, arguing that he was failed by the crew members responsible for overseeing weapons and safety on set. Attorney Alex Spiro emphasized that Baldwin had been told the gun was safe moments before it was handed to him.

The case appeared set for days of intense exchanges over whether Baldwin was at fault, with the actor himself expected to possibly testify. But the jury was unable to render a verdict after things swiftly deteriorated on Friday when previously unseen evidence was presented.

The court anticipated a compelling day as prosecutors were expected to call Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year, to the stand.

On Friday morning, the defense alleged the state had withheld evidence and asked the judge to dismiss the case. Shortly after, Sommer dismissed the jury, leading to a day of gripping testimony and astonishing courtroom exchanges.

Issues first emerged on Thursday when Baldwin’s defense claimed that the state had received evidence regarding how live rounds of ammunition ended up on the set of Rust. Prosecutors had long stated that Gutierrez-Reed was the source of the live round, but the new evidence reportedly challenged that conclusion.

A “good samaritan,” Troy Teske, came forward to police this year with a box of munitions he claimed came from the prop supplier, Seth Kenney, and matched the ammunition that killed Hutchins, Spiro told the court. The state did not include the report of an interview with Teske with the other Rust evidence, nor did they share it with Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyer, Spiro said.

Morrissey had contended that the new ammunition did not match the ones on the Rust set, saying it had “no evidentiary value whatsoever.”

The judge asked to see the report and the evidence, a box of ammunition. Moments later, Sommer, wearing gloves, stepped down from the bench to examine evidence directly and found that some of the bullets did resemble those from Rust.

At one point while questioning a witness, Morrissey grabbed a bullet and handled it herself without gloves, drawing an objection from the defense.

Alexandria Hancock, with the Santa Fe county sheriff’s office, testified on Friday that she and other officials made the decision to file it separately from the other Rust evidence in an entirely different case file because they had not yet established it was connected to the case, she said.

Morrissey said several times that Troy Teske, the man who came forward with the ammunition, was a friend of Gutierrez-Reed’s father. She stated she had never seen the report until Friday morning. However, as the judge questioned Hancock, it became apparent that Morrissey was directly involved in the decision to keep the evidence separate from the Rust case. The audience in the courtroom audibly gasped.

Morrissey appeared determined to defend her actions and by the end of the day, she called herself to the stand, despite the judge telling her that was unnecessary. “You don’t have to say anything under oath if you don’t want to,” Sommer said.

Morrissey testified she was unaware that the evidence brought forward would not be linked to the Rust case number.

She countered Spiro’s suggestion that she didn’t like Baldwin. “I actually really appreciate Mr. Baldwin’s movies,” she stated. “I really appreciated the acting he did on Saturday Night Live.”

Spiro wasn’t done. In the final moments Morrissey was on the stand, he asked if she had ever referred to the actor as an “arrogant prick” and "cocksucker” in a conversation with a witness.

She did not recall doing so.

Baldwin, who had appeared tense during the week, looked increasingly hopeful as the day went on. When the judge threw out the case, he wept and covered his face.

The judge dismissed the case with “prejudice,” putting a sudden end to the involuntary manslaughter proceedings against Baldwin. This decision means prosecutors cannot bring the same case against him again, likely leaving Baldwin off the hook for good.

The state’s conduct amounted to a “constitutional violation,” Rahmani said, calling it “the cardinal sin for a prosecutor.”

The ruling could also have major implications for Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer, who may attempt to undo her conviction based on Friday’s decision.

“Not only is Baldwin a free man and he can’t be retried, but the Gutierrez-Reed conviction will likely be reversed,” Rahmani predicted.

Carl Tobias, of the University of Richmond law school, agreed that her defense would likely use the same approach as Baldwin’s lawyers.

“Hannah Gutierrez-Reed may attempt to make similar arguments to those that Baldwin and his counsel made, arguing that her conviction should be overturned or at least request a retrial and her release from jail,” Tobias said.

The attorney for Matthew Hutchins, Halyna’s husband, stated that they respected the court’s decision.

“We look forward to presenting all the evidence to a jury and holding Mr. Baldwin accountable for his actions in the senseless death of Halyna Hutchins,” Brian J Panish said.

Source: Eddie Moore/AP