A New Mexico judge has upheld her decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie. State District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer reaffirmed her previous ruling, stating that prosecutors did not provide any new arguments that would warrant reversing her decision. Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey plans to appeal the ruling.
The case was dismissed midway through the trial due to allegations of withheld evidence by police and prosecutors in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust.” The trial was disrupted by the revelation of ammunition related to the killing that was not disclosed to the defense. Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer, maintains he did not pull the trigger, but the gun fired during a rehearsal, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
In a separate case, movie weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ death. Gutierrez-Reed’s request to dismiss her conviction was denied, with the judge finding no reasonable possibility that the trial outcome would have been different with the withheld evidence. She still has an appeal pending.
Baldwin’s lawyers had no immediate reaction to the judge’s decision. The case has faced numerous challenges, including the resignation of a previous special prosecutor due to missteps in the initial charges. The legal battle surrounding the tragic incident on the film set continues to unfold with appeals and ongoing court proceedings.
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