Alec Baldwin was visibly emotional after his involuntary manslaughter trial was dismissed due to alleged misconduct by state investigators. The judge, Mary Marlowe Sommer, granted Baldwin’s attorney’s motion to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning he cannot be tried again. This decision came after Baldwin’s legal team argued that evidence was not properly disclosed by state investigators, impacting the fairness of the proceedings.
Baldwin, who was facing a single charge of involuntary manslaughter and a possible 18-month prison sentence, was seen sobbing after the trial that lasted only three days. The trial came to a halt when Baldwin’s team accused prosecutors of not properly turning over evidence, specifically live rounds of ammunition that were not recorded in the official case file by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
The drama continued as a crime scene technician testified that the ammo in question was not included in the case inventory or tested to determine if they matched the lethal round that killed Halyna Hutchins. Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey argued that the ammo had no evidentiary value to Baldwin’s case as it did not match the rounds found on the set of Rust.
After a series of back-and-forth arguments, Judge Sommer called the jury home for the day and examined the ammo in question herself, leading to the dismissal of the case. The resignation of special prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson added to the complexity of the situation, with Morrissey expressing disappointment over the judge’s decision.
The case concluded just days after Baldwin’s attorney insisted that the prop gun was checked and verified as safe, and Baldwin was not aware of any live rounds in the revolver. The attorney emphasized that Baldwin did not tamper with the gun and did not leave it unattended, refuting claims that Baldwin violated firearm safety rules on the set of Rust.
The dismissal of Baldwin’s trial comes nearly three months after Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for her role in Hutchins’ death. The emotional rollercoaster of the trial, from Baldwin’s visible distress to the legal arguments presented by both sides, has brought the tragic incident on the set of Rust back into the spotlight.