‘Rust’ Case Against Alec Baldwin Is Dismissed Over Withheld Evidence
The New York Times
The involuntary manslaughter case against Mr. Baldwin fell apart after an envelope of ammunition that the prosecution had not shown the defense was brought into the courtroom.
A judge in New Mexico dismissed the case against Alec Baldwin on Friday after finding that the state had withheld evidence that could have shed light on how live rounds got onto a film set where the cinematographer was fatally shot.
The dismissal was with prejudice, meaning that the prosecution of Mr. Baldwin is over. If he had been convicted of involuntary manslaughter, Mr. Baldwin would have faced up to 18 months in prison.
“There is no way for the court to right this wrong,” Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said in court as Mr. Baldwin wept.
It was a stunning end to the trial of Mr. Baldwin, who was rehearsing with a gun on the “Rust” film set in 2021 when it fired a live round, killing Halyna Hutchins, the movie’s cinematographer. Mr. Baldwin had been told the gun was “cold,” meaning it had no live ammunition.
The dismissal followed a dramatic scene when the lead prosecutor, Kari T. Morrissey, went from questioning witnesses to taking the stand herself. She gave an account of why a batch of ammunition that had been turned in to the state several months ago by a witness who claimed it was related to the “Rust” shooting had been put in an entirely different case file and was not handed over to the defense.
