- Max Matza
- BBC News
Alec Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter in the shooting that killed director of photography Helena Hutchins.
The American actor’s lawyer, Alec Baldwin, said that the criminal charges against his client related to the shooting incident that led to the death of the director of photography, Helena Hutchins, have been dropped.
The Emmy Award-winning actor was charged with two counts of manslaughter while filming “Rust” in New Mexico.
Director of photography Hutchins was killed in October 2021 by a live bullet from a gun Baldwin was using.
This comes about two weeks before the start of a hearing early next month.
“We are pleased with the decision to drop the case against Alec Baldwin and call for a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic incident,” Baldwin’s lawyer, Luke Nicas, told the BBC in a statement.
Baldwin was practicing shooting a handgun on a ranch near Santa Fe when a bullet fired from it killed Hutchins, the 42-year-old Ukrainian-born, and wounded director Joel Sousa.
The actor denied pressing the trigger of the gun, although an FBI report later concluded that the gun could not be fired without the trigger being pulled.
The star was scheduled to appear before the court in a preliminary hearing on May 3.
The public prosecutor’s office has charged Hana Gutierrez Reed, the gun supplier in the film with involuntary manslaughter, and it is not clear if prosecutors will drop the charges against her as well.
Gutierrez Reid’s lawyer told The Associated Press that they “fully expect at the end of this case that Hana will be acquitted as well.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, prosecutors recently learned that the weapon used in the shooting, a .45-caliber Colt revolver, had been modified and a new trigger used in a way that could increase the possibility of error.
image copyright Getty Images
Photo shows Baldwin holding the gun that killed Hutchins (left).
Prosecutors had accused Baldwin, 65, of being careless about safety procedures while “reckless” towards his colleagues.
Baldwin’s attorney, Nikas, earlier described the initial decision to charge his client as a “massive failure of justice.”
He added, “Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the revolver – or anywhere on the set of the film.”
He said, “He relied on the professionals he worked with, who assured him that the gun did not contain live ammunition.”
For Baldwin to be found guilty, prosecutors had to convince the court that he acted in a “criminal negligence” manner.
If convicted, he could have faced up to 18 months in prison.
The Santa Fe district attorney had initially added a firearm modification charge, which could have added five years to the actor’s sentence.
However, the charge was dropped after prosecutors determined that the Amendment Act was not in effect at the time of the shooting.
image copyright Getty Images
The decision to drop the charges comes on the same day he resumed work on “Rust” after 18 months of shooting.
Milena Spadoni, a lawyer for the film’s production company, said the new rules “will prevent any use of active weapons and any form of ammunition”.
“Live fire is prohibited on set, as it always has been,” she added.
Variety magazine said that Baldwin has now begun shooting the film at a new location in the US state of Montana.
Hutchins’ husband, Matthew, will be an executive producer after Baldwin last October settled a wrongful death lawsuit brought by her family.
The production company, of which Baldwin is a part, said in February that the scene that was being rehearsed when the accident happened to Hutchins while she was filming the movie had now been rewritten.
