Alec Baldwin charged with involuntary manslaughter
A district attorney for New Mexico announced that charges have been filed related to Halyna Hutchins’ death. Both Alec Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department conducted a detailed investigation that included how a live round made it into a dummy round box. The district attorney has asked for emergency funding to prosecute this case.
From Fox News:
Halyna died when a gun Alec Baldwin was holding fired, while practicing a scene on Oct. 21, 2021. The group had been rehearsing in a small church on the Bonanza Creek Ranch set.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department has spent the last year investigating how live rounds made it onto the movie set. Armorer Hannah Guiterrez-Reed and assistant director Dave Halls were the only other crew members believed to have handled the gun that fired on set.
“Never in a million years did Hannah think that live rounds could have been in the ‘dummy’ round box,” one of Guiterrez-Reed’s attorneys, Jason Bowles, said in a statement shared with Fox News shortly after the fatal accident. “Who put those in there and why is the central question.”
Halls allegedly handed Baldwin a .45 revolver, telling him that it was “cold,” or safe. Prior to that, Gutierrez-Reed spun the cylinder to show Halls what was in the gun, her lawyer said.
Baldwin has maintained that he did not pull the trigger of the gun – once during a prime-time interview shortly following the deadly shooting and again on a podcast episode. The actor originally said he had pulled the hammer of the gun back as far as he could and released it, but did not pull the trigger.
Carmack-Altwies named Baldwin specifically in her request for emergency funding to prosecute the case. The DA explained that she anticipated prosecuting up to four individuals –possibly including Baldwin.
“The ‘Rust’ prosecution could be potentially be prosecutions from one (1) to four (4) defendants,” Carmack-Altwies wrote in paperwork filed for an emergency grant. “One of the possible defendants is well-known movie actor Alec Baldwin.”
A wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Alec Baldwin and other key members of the production on Feb. 15, 2022.
The lawsuit named Baldwin and others who “are responsible for the safety on the set” and called out “reckless behavior and cost-cutting” that led to the death of Hutchins, according to the family’s lawyer.
Matthew Hutchins’ attorneys interviewed witnesses before filing and created a video compiling evidence for the wrongful death lawsuit. In the video shared at a press conference, Matthew’s lawyers reiterated claims from crew members that the “Rust” set was unsafe. The lawsuit claimed that Baldwin, who was also a producer on the film, and other “Rust” crew and cast committed “major breaches” of safety on the set.
Fox News has additional information here.
Category: "Teh Stoopid", Crime
This seems…..huh, reasonable.
I’m shocked.
Exactly what I was going to say.
Great
Slow applause, standing.
Haven’t seen that commercial in a few decades!
I didn’t know what AW1Ed was all excited about and I recognized the commercial but I didn’t remember it….exactly….or I *thought* I did…
(*click*)
Cut the guy some slack. He hasn’t wrongfully killed someone in over 14 months.
Let he who has not negligently discharged a firearm leading to the death of a coworker cast the first stone.
I’d cut him some slack if he would just stop with the
“I did not pull the trigger bullshit”.
He should take the involuntary manslaughter hit and move on
because there’s obviously a lot more going on involving a lot
of other people. The current charge is a blessing.
Gimme that rock!
I gots me a rock, which way did he go?
Geez, Mom! Will you stop doing that?
Were any of the other rounds in the gun live?
The box?
No one knows. That info hasn’t been disclosed. I would like to know what was in the other five chambers, and whether they were dummy rounds. Plus, if dummies, did they have dented primers.
Hope Halls gets some contributory charges as well.
When he gets convicted, will Disney/Fox Television pull the episode of The Simpsons that he guest starred in from reruns?
Probably. Everyone in the media is such a squeamish “uncomfortable” coward these dsys.
I am not inclined to cut Alec Baldwin any slack at all.
None.
Nada.
Zip.
Nichts.
His culpability needs to be hammered into his psyche using triphammers to smash his ego into chaff. His failures should be so driven into his consciousness that he is turned into a whimpering jelly mass writing on the floor of his cell.
His self-righteousness needs to be annihilated and his hypocrisy should be the forefront of his self-awareness so that he never, ever, again dare to make a condemnatory statement against anyone.
Ever.
Nailed it, Graybeard…Spot on…What you said! I still believe, as I commented when this FIRST (ht2 Hack) happened, that Balless Baldwin will get a walk. Gonna cost him/his production company/insurance company some $, but no jail time for him. Watch.
Yup, ol’ Poe also stated his belief that with Santa Fe politics being somewhere to the left of San Francisco, Baldwin, being one of the liberal anointed, would never serve time.
And while Poe is a bit surprised by these charges, that belief hasn’t changed. They may have decided that the national spotlight a trial will bring is worth spending some tax dollars on, but even with that light full on them, they’ll find someway within their lefty legal system to derail the proceedings against Baldwin.
After all, Alec only killed the woman–it’s not like he sexually harassed her… 🙄
Or failed to use her preferred pronouns.
It wouldn’t surprise me if you’re right, but I’ve already been surprised once just that they actually charged him.
Surprised isn’t right. More like flabbergasted.
I fully expected this to just fade slowly from memory, never to be heard of again.
That gun can be fired by pulling the hammer back and releasing it if there is pressure on the trigger.
So he had pressure on the trigger, even if he didn’t “pull” the trigger.
That being said, I don’t think this will result in a conviction unless he pleas to a lesser charge. There is just too many variables out of his control which could leave doubt in the minds of the jury.
In California he needs to have been committing a crime or dangerous act at the time of unintentionally killing someone.
And you need to have some awareness that what you were doing was dangerous.
Pointing what he was told was a “cold” gun at a camera on a set was not a crime.
And the fact that he was told that the gun was “cold” is certainty enough for the defense to argue that he had no reason to believe the gun was dangerous.
Yes, you never point a gun at something you don’t intend to destroy. But that is not how film production works. People often point “cold” firearms at cameras.
But as Producer for the film, he hired the armorer. Alec Baldwin the actor may not be convicted, but Alec Baldwin the producer bears some, if not most, responsibility for what happens during the making of the film. Maybe convicted on Negligent Homicide or Manslaughter? Let the Barracks “Lawers” weigh in.
I’m barred in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Meaning, I can’t practice law in any of them.
That never stopped Daniel Bernath.
Speaking of The Grate One, anyone have plans for commemorating the anniversary of his making a lasting impression upon Bonita Springs Florida five years ago this coming Sunday? Hack will observe the moment by placing 30 miles worth of fuel in the 1980’s vintage Jaguar and setting out on a 50 mile journey.
Make sure and tap the fuel gauge a few times to make sure it’s working.
I was a non-barracks lawer. Unlike the cuttlefish, I am qualified to opine. The armorer will likely cop a plea, as she is the most culpable. Baldwin may go to trial. It is a coin toss as to whether he will be convicted. His extra-judicial statements that he didn’t pull the trigger and he thought the gun was “unloaded” will be problematic for him. The lead bullets were readily visible from the front of the cylinder, and the brass case rims can be seen in the rear of the cylinder of an SAA.
“…non-barracks lawer.”
Y’all are on a roll today.
Objection, calls for speculation.
Overruled.
Objection, assumes facts not in evidence.
Overruled.
Objection, argumentative.
Overruled.
Objection, … aw hell, I don’t know what I’m saying. It just all sounded good on TV.
You forgot Perry Mason’s fave objection, “irrelevant and immaterial,” neither of which I ever heard in a real court room. However, your three are real ones I have used, sometimes successfully.
I move for a motion.
If the dummy round is loaded with bullets as it is for realistic filming, from the front of the cylinder there is no difference .
Correct. And they were blocking to film a scene with a close-up shot of the front of the gun. But if anyone who wasn’t careless had opened the loading gate and spun the cylinder, he or she would have seen that a round with a pristine primer, indicating a live round, was in at least one of the six chambers of the cylinder. My point was that Baldwin knew the gun was not empty or “unloaded,” as he said in one of his statements. It was supposed to be loaded with at least five dummy rounds.
I didn’t know he hired the armorer.
That is interesting.
I think him firing the pistol was a genuine accident.
But hiring the armorer was down right negligent. She had no business working in that capacity.
It might not matter that he was told the pistol was “cold”, his negligence contributed to why it had a live round in it.
I understand why the charge now.
Alec should stick to shootin’ off his mouth:
As the producer, he’s responsible for the actions of the “armorer” he was paying. He’s responsible for the actions on the set, including having live rounds on the set. As the individual holding the gun, he’s responsible for checking the “cold” gun to ensure it was indeed cold. He’s responsible for thumbing the hammer back, he’s responsible for holding the trigger back while thumbing the hammer back, he’s responsible for pointing the gun at a human being. End result is one more person dead, killed by an unloaded weapon. Every action from start to finish falls directly on Alec Baldwin. And this for the geographically challenged: New Mexico is not California. California law, as always, is irrelevant. Let’s see, did I leave anything out…
“New Mexico IS in California…dumbass.” (… modified version of one of the last lines of the movie Idiocracy.)
Under ordinary conditions I don’t think he is criminally responsible for the actions of the armorer.
He would be civilly responsible.
However, since hiring this particular armorer seems to have been downright negligent, he may be criminally responsible for why there was a live round in a “cold” gun.
Even if he hadn’t pulled the trigger, if he hired a completely unqualified armorer and a live round killed someone, he would likely have been charged.
Any way you slice it, he’s responsible for a chain of events that resulted in a preventable death. He needs to be flattened with the biggest hammer the legal system can swing, both criminally and civilly.
Sorry Lars. The accidental death ship sailed with Baldwin’s steadfast refusal to accept responsibility for his actions.
He’s lefty elite so he’ll never see jail.
“if there is pressure on the trigger”
Wind pressiure? Magnetic pressure? Gravity? Inertia?
His finger was on the trigger.
His finger exerted pressure on the trigger.
He and only he placed his finger there.
If Alec Baldwin kept his finger up his ass where it belongs, she would be alive today, and Alec Baldwin would have released another movie that nobody bothered watching. The road not taken…
^^^And THAT concludes today’s lesson.
Plus, he had to have fully cocked the hammer and released it while holding back the trigger. Either that, or he simply fully cocked the hammer and then pulled the trigger.
The Piettas I own have about 3-4 pound trigger pulls out of the box. In the video of Baldwin’s actions just before the shot, one can see his finger on the trigger.
He has to have used enough pressure to hold the trigger back while drawing the hammer back to full cock and releasing it with his thumb. All the video and freeze frames, like the one above, show Baldwin with his finger inside the trigger guard.
Who let you out from under your rock?
What was the first thing we were taught to do in the Army when someone handed you a firearm regardless? That applies in Civilian life as well. I don’t care who you are if someone hands me a firearm, the FIRST THING I’m doing is to check it. Alec Baldwin IS liable for that Woman’s death, HE AIMED that weapon at her.
“Muh training kicked in!” he’ll claim because he’s an ignorant ass left/libtard who never bothered to get any.
And his finger caused it to fire.
That too. The only “gun” he ever knew how to handle was the one “this is for fun” of his.
Except that Baldwin has changed his story no less than 3 times, and did so during televised interviews, which will probably be used against him.
IIRC, he first said the gun “just went off”, which is mechanically impossible for the type of gun he used. His description and recollection of events changed, and that will likely be used in aggravation against him…in that he was actually clueless in what he was doing.
He fucked up, and anyone who understands and practices firearms safety knows it.
Shouldn’t be too hard to argue in court, but I doubt he’ll really be held accountable.
“Except that Baldwin has changed his story no less than 3 times, and did so during televised interviews, which will probably be used against him.”
Only a complete idiot of a Prosecutor WOULDN’T use that against him, like the “What you say can and will be used against you in a Court of Law.” part of the Miranda Warning says!
I can foresee a “Non-gender specific members of the jury, my client is an idiot” defense there.
My iPad died before I finished me reply. Then I forgot to come back and reply.
I kept brain lashing and forgetting this happened in New Mexico.
“Baldwin has maintained that he did not pull the trigger of the gun – once during a prime-time interview shortly following the deadly shooting and again on a podcast episode. The actor originally said he had pulled the hammer of the gun back as far as he could and released it, but did not pull the trigger.”
Mmmmmnope, it’s been proven that that pistol could not fire unless the trigger was pulled, IMO Baldwin needs some time in the can with Bubba, Thor and Company, but money usually paves the way for turds like him from getting what they truly deserve, that and a wuss like him couldn’t last even five minutes in lockup!
Stikes me that the one interviews he did will be used against him, if the case ever gets to trial.
You can count on that. And those clips may trigger his ego enough to demand of his lawers that he take the stand. If so, cross-exam will no go well for him. Lying to the jury could sink him.
Hmmm. Maybe he and Jussie Smolett can share a cell!
“I didn’t pull the trigger, Jussie!”
“Yes, there were Trump supporters waiting for me on the street at 3 AM when the temperature was -20, Alec!”
The sad part about all of this is someone is dead because the entire operation was run as some sort of fucking amateur hour production.
None of these assholes involved in the production, daily operations, or staff safety took their jobs seriously.
There is no need for live rounds on a film set, period. Every single person responsible for handling, checking, and operating those weapons should have been aware of that reality and had the ability to identify live versus blank/safe rounds. Consequently the company is liable for the death, as officers and operators of the company the individuals named are liable for the negligence of the company. Far too many managers are unaware of their potential legal liability for the safety of employees and subordinates in any operation where physical harm can take place.
Alec Baldwin is a class A douchebag for a number of reasons, it doesn’t make him a killer or a threat to society at large. A conviction in this case is unlikely to result in any real prison time, a fine and probation is more likely and a conviction adds substance to any wrongful death filings.
This will be an interesting case largely because it’s probably one of the first such cases for the Hollywood crowd. These cases come up for us regular folks whenever someone in our employ is injured seriously or worse killed while working….it is one of my biggest fears because no matter how hard we try to keep our workplace safe the ability of employees to ignore life threatening conditions never fails to exceed the anticipation of just how stupid some people can be when it comes to their personal safety and subsequent protections.
I once worked a case where the employee managed to cut off a foot operating a large hydraulic waste paper baling machine. He and/or his fellow illegal Mexican workers had wired back the machine’s safety switch which would have prevented the accident. He collected $600k plus disability workers’ comp benefits.
He was just glad to be able to get a foot in the door at his place of employment.
Whose going to foot the bill.
Unfortunately, the insurance carrier for my client, the company that sold and maintained the baling machine paid the settlement.
He can always get a job at ihop
If the shoe were on the other foot…
Yup, the reason for F/X and specifically doing sh*t under lab conditions with a camera later.
Alec sings Springsteen’s immortal words: “I’m goin’ down, down, down.” Sucks to be negligent.
This gun for hire?
This time, when he says “Beetlejuice!”, it’s not gonna work…
😶
“You Really Don’t Have To Kill Anybody!”
Mrs. GB and I loved Beetlejuice!
Not quite as much as Princess Bride, and a bit more then Blazing Saddles, but it is movie gold.
That is one of our all time Favorite movies as well as Mel Brooks Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Space Balls!
Our Daughter and I exchange Beetlejuice quotes. Our Co Workers are always exchanging quotes from Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles…!
Those movies NEVER get old, Graybeard…Never!!
Thank You so much for sharing!!!
(Banana Boat Song..😆😅🤣😂)
There is no excuse for having live ammo in a box of dummy rounds. There is also no excuse for loading a live round into an SAA to be used on a movie set. Dummy rounds should only be made with unprimed brass. But even if fired cases are used, visually, it is apparent, since the spent primer will have a firing pin dent. A live round will have an unmarked primer in the base of the cartridge. Thus, the person who loaded the subject revolver screwed up, and anyone who subsequently opened the loading gate and checked it could have seen there was a live round loaded.
Stupid liberals who don’t know anything about or respect guns, but think they can do anything sucessfully regardless.
There have been so many conflicting stories reported as to how the weapon got from the armorer’s station to on-set.
This one claims she handed the weapon to the assistant director (I’m curious why he’s not named as a defendant), but others claim he just grabbed the weapon off a table and assumed it was cold. Many raise suspicion that disgruntled crew may have messed with the set, or that she was doubly booked as both armorer and assistant props by producers desperate to save money (in the latter, I assume she’d still be liable to some degree for assuming responsibilities beyond her ability?).
Maybe I’m biased in favor of cute little blondes, but I hope she is acquitted and keeps working as an armorer – there will never be a more safety-focused person in the industry after this.
Halls has reportedly been involved in at least one other on-set negligent discharge.
Ultimately, the onus falls on the man who aimed the weapon, in my opinion.
He’s was also the assistant armorer, and he has copped a plea. He will testify against the other two.
Thanks for the update. Makes the guy seem even more skeevy.
Well, at least it did not happen in the State Of California…
(We know, we know…It’s Involuntary Manslaughter…We still think this is funny)..
15 Seconds Of Pure Gold.
😉
“Mr. Baldwin, how do you plead?”
“Not guilty. Donald Trump made me do it.”
Hear Hack out, before you dismiss it out of hand.
Alec Baldwin had steady employment (badly) portraying Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live.
If Donald Trump won reelection in 2020, Alec Baldwin would still be working in New York, and would not have the time nor need to make another film.
Donald Trump lost the 2020 election because Mainstream Media, along with rogue agents within the FBI and CIA, conspired to keep the story of Hunter Biden’s laptop out of the news cycle before November 2020.
Ergo, Halyna Hutchins’ death is part of a vast left wing conspiracy to funnel weapons to Ukraine, with money being kicked back to the Big Guy.
We’re through the looking glass, people.
Doesn’t really seem that far fetched to me…
He recently bought a farm in the well to part of Vermont, we are becoming a hiding spot for Hollywood’s creeps. Like The FLASH
That’s what you get for sending Bolshevik Bernie to the Senate. 😬
He did import a lot of voters,
Interesting Opinion:
“Rust’ tragedy: Alec Baldwin should not be charged in criminal case over shooting death of Halyna Hutchins. What happened with Alec Baldwin and Halya Hutchins in New Mexico on the set of ‘Rust’ was a tragic accident”
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/rust-tragedy-alec-baldwin-should-not-be-charged-criminal-case-shooting-death-halyna-hutchins
“To lay my biases on the table, I do not believe the criminal law should be applied to tragic accidents. Having been a federal prosecutor for 20 years, and a deputy U.S. marshal in the federal Witness Protection Program before that, I believe prosecution should be reserved for unlawful conduct that is intentional – or, at the very least, reckless to the point of depravity (e.g., a person who shoots a gun into a crowd).”
“Deaths and injuries caused by tragic mishaps are properly the stuff of civil lawsuits, which frequently yield hefty financial judgments.”
I would argue this fits as “reckless to the point of depravity.”
From the screen-writer’s suit, the weapon wasn’t even meant to be fired in the scene being rehearsed, and it’s not like Hollywood doesn’t have set protocols for firearms use on set.
I have lost faith in Andrew McCathrty in the last five years.
What’s astonishing about this whole situation is that there have been dozens of accidental (read: “negligent”) shootings over the past several decades that resulted in injuries and deaths (Brandon Lee, Jon-Erik Hexum, and quite a few others) and yet, there still doesn’t seem to be one universal standard for how firearms are handled or used on movie sets.
If I was the king of the universe, I’d have strict rules regarding firearms on set. First and foremost, use only prop guns (that cannot fire real ammo) unless there is a bonafide reason for using real guns. Second, live ammo is not allowed anywhere on set. Third: Nobody TOUCHES a weapon except the armorer and the actor(s) using that weapon and 4th: Anybody who touches any weapon has to first demonstrate that they know how to check the weapon to ensure that it is safe and is required to do so EVERY TIME THEY TOUCH THE WEAPON.
Rules like this aren’t hard and would prevent accidents like this.
According to Adam Baldwin’s (no relation, Browncoats take heart) tweets when this first happened (I’ve since deleted Twitter and can’t provide references, my apologies) there are standard protocols in the film industry.
Also, “prop” is short for “property.” It doesn’t denote any lack of function, just that the item is property of the studio/production.
Alec Baldwin is led to his cell. The guard opens the door, Alec enters, and the door is secured behind him. Alec sees his cellmate, and starts talking to him.
Alec: Hi. I’m Alec Baldwin. I guess we’ll be roommates.
Cellmate: My name is Tyrone, but everyone calls me Drillmaster.
Alec: okay. So, Drillmaster, do we get conjugal visits here.
Cellmate: I guarantee you’ll be having more sex than you could ever imagine.
*Cell door shuts *
Cellmate: You gonna be here for some time!
Alec Baldwin: Uhhm, yeah.
Cellmate: It’s gonna be like we’re married, you wanna be the Husband or the Wife?
Alec Baldwin: HUSBAND!
Cellmate: Okay, now GET OVER HERE and suck your Wife’s dick!
First heard that and some other prison jokes from a retired sheriff’s deputy about twenty years ago. The other fave prison joke he told had as a punch line: “Oh, you’re not going to like Thursdays.”
It took them long enough to come to a patently freaking obvious conclusion in the investigation.
😉😎
Dick Cheney and Alec Baldwin now have something in common…
Alec wins. When Dick Cheney shot the guy in the face, he lived.
I’d rather hunt with Dick Cheney than ride with Ted “wine ’em, dine ’em, dink ’em and dunk ’em” Kennedy.
Mr. Stone and SFC D:
You both bad…
As in GOOD!
Bravo!
👏👏👏👏
Yep…
He DOES favor Yosemite Sam….
😉😎
For our very own beloved AW1Ed and Mick…
He Forgot About The Danger Zone….
His Goose Is Cooked…
DA Form 6. We got a 3 Day pass…Time to attend the Safety Briefing from the 1SG before we leave to play in a Volleyball Tournament…
😉😎
Waiting for Joe Biden to lecture Alec Baldwin…
Participation Trophy…
😉😎
This will saving our tax dollars..Sarc…
Hooray For Hollywood..
You Betcha…
Well?
😏
Gonna Get Interesting…
🤭