Why Alec Baldwin Can’t Face Charges Again for Halyna Hutchins’ Death

Alec Baldwin will not face recharges in connection to Halyna Hutchins’ death.

On July 12, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the involuntary manslaughter case against Baldwin with prejudice, meaning prosecutors cannot pursue the same charges against Baldwin again.

The dismissal took place on the third day of Baldwin’s New Mexico trial regarding the 2021 shooting on the set of Rust. The incident resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and the injury of director Joel Souza.

Baldwin’s legal team argued that the case should be dismissed, alleging mishandling of evidence by the police. They claimed police took possession of live rounds of ammunition but did not document them in the official case file and that prosecutors failed to disclose the existence of this ammunition.

During the trial, witnesses were called to address the defense’s motion. Corporal Alexandria Hancock testified that ammunition handed over by Troy Tesketurned was not catalogued with the rest of the Rust evidence, which Hancock claimed prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey knew about.

Morrissey testified that the ammunition in question had “no evidentiary value” because it did not match the ammunition used on the Rust set.

Judge Sommer was not convinced and ruled to dismiss the case with prejudice. She stated, “The late discovery of this evidence has impacted the fundamental fairness of the proceedings. There is no way for the court to right this wrong. The sanction of dismissal is the only warranted remedy.”

Baldwin and his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, were visibly emotional and relieved by the judge’s ruling. Outside the courthouse, Morrissey expressed her disappointment, stating, “I’m disappointed because I believe that the importance of the evidence was misconstrued by the defense attorneys. We did everything humanly possible to bring justice to Halyna and her family, and we’re proud of the work that we did.”

The judge’s decision might also affect the fate of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March. Sentenced to 18 months at a New Mexico Correctional Facility, her legal team could now file a motion for a new trial in light of Sommer’s ruling.

Furthermore, the decision could have implications for Seth Kenney, the firearms provider for Rust. He might now face prosecution, and Morrissey could be subject to a prosecutorial misconduct complaint.

Source: People, CNN