Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
Article content
SANTA FE, N.M. — Defence attorneys for Alec Baldwin urged a New Mexico judge on Thursday to dismiss a grand jury indictment against the actor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the western movie Rust.
Article content
The indictment in January charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on Oct. 21, 2021, at a movie ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe.
Article content
“The grand jury did not receive the favourable or exculpatory testimony and documents that the state had an obligation to present,” said the court motion signed by defence attorney Luke Nikas. “Nor was the grand jury told it had a right to review and the obligation to request this information.”
The motion also asserts that the grand jury received inaccurate and one-sided testimony about the revolver involved in the fatal shooting.
Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted by a jury last week in the shooting and is being held without bond pending an April sentencing hearing. Involuntary manslaughter carries a felony sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and injuring Souza. Baldwin has maintained that he pulled back the gun’s hammer, but not the trigger.
Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed at a two-week trial for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of Rust where it was expressly prohibited. They also said she failed to follow basic gun-safety protocols.
Halls last year pleaded no contest to negligent handling of a firearm and completed a sentence of six months of unsupervised probation.
Baldwin is scheduled for trial in July.
Share this article in your social network
