Watch: Alec Baldwin rehearses with gun before fatal shooting
Criminal charges have been dropped against Alec Baldwin over a fatal on-set shooting, according to his lawyers.
The Emmy-award winning actor was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter over the shooting during the filming of Rust in New Mexico.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed by a live bullet fired from a prop gun that was being used by Baldwin in October 2021.
The development comes less than two weeks before a trial was set to begin.
"We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident," his lawyer, Luke Nikas, told the BBC in a statement.
Mr Baldwin had been practising firing the gun on set at a ranch near Santa Fe when it went off, fatally striking 42-year-old Ukrainian-born Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. The actor denied pulling the trigger.
He had been due in court for a preliminary hearing on 3 May.
The film's armourer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, is also facing two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Prosecutors had accused Mr Baldwin of showing a "reckless" disregard for the safety of his colleagues.
Mr Baldwin's lawyer, Mr Nikas, previously called the initial decision to charge his client "a terrible miscarriage of justice".
"Mr Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun - or anywhere on the movie set," Mr Nikas said.
"He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds."
In order to have been found guilty prosecutors 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.
But it was dropped after prosecutors determined that the enhancement law was not in place at the time of the shooting.
The Sante Fe district attorney's office directed the BBC to the office of a special prosecutor handling the case. The special prosecutor did not immediately respond to inquiries.
The decision to drop the charges comes on the same day that Rust resumed filming - 18 months after the shooting.
Melina Spadone, a lawyer for Rust Movie Productions, said new rules on the set "will bar any use of working weapons and any form of ammunition".
"Live ammunition is - and always was - prohibited on set."
According to Variety magazine, Mr Baldwin is currently filming Rust on location in Montana.
Hutchins' widower, Matthew, will be an executive producer. Baldwin last October reached a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by her family.
Rust Movie productions, which Baldwin is part of, said in February the scene that was being rehearsed when Hutchins was shot has now been rewritten.
Related Topics
-
- 11 hours ago
-
- 15 February
-
- 19 January
-
- 5 October 2022
-
- 11 May 2022
from Via PakapNews