Alec Baldwin faces fresh manslaughter charge over 'Rust' shooting

[Retro]

This intriguing story just refuses to go away.

I fail to see how Alec Baldwin could be guilty here since the gun wasn't supposed to have live rounds in it, so it's immaterial whether he pulled that trigger or not. The real question is who put them in there and how and why, which is still unanswered.

Now, the scene wasn't meant to be a shooting scene, he was just supposed to point the gun at someone and draw back the hammer, so how did the gun go off? That remains an unanswered question since Baldwin maintains that he never pulled the trigger, but an examination of the gun proved that it couldn't have fired without him having pulled it, contradicting him. Hence, we have two possibilities here:

1. His finger twitched involuntarily and pulled the trigger by accident. This is surprisingly easy to do when lightly pressing something. For example, this happens to me with my thumb over the side PC mouse buttons, hence I've disabled them. He may then have not been aware of having pulled the trigger, but the odds suggest that he would have.

2. He knows he pulled it and why, but is lying about it. Note that the why can still be the reason in point 1.

Again though, whether he pulled that trigger or not is immaterial, because blanks should have been loaded into that gun, or perhaps no ammo at all, given that the scene wasn't a shooting one.

The only reason that I can see for Baldwin being liable, is in conspiracy theory territory, where him and others intentionally killed Halyna Hutchins and used this as a cover-up. However, it's a very bad way to go about it and there's been no suggestion he or others intended it, or had motive, so I don't think we have to consider this possibility.

I can only think that this lawsuit is going ahead perhaps, due to things that haven't been reported that they know about which may change the picture significantly.

Alec Baldwin faces fresh manslaughter charge over 'Rust' shooting

A New Mexico grand jury has charged the actor anew over the on-set shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Tiffany]

I'm perplexed that he's being charged again? I thought this went through federal and civil courts already, though admittedly, I haven't followed the trial progress very close, except to hear the outcomes. My main relocation is hearing about the lack of firearm safety issues by the crew in charge of it.

 

[Retro]

Baldwin's lawyers have tried to have the manslaughter case against him dismissed, but have failed, so the trial is going ahead on 9th July, as planned.

As I said previously, prop guns are never supposed to be loaded with real bullets, making the depression of that trigger irrelevant, so how can he be on trial for it? I still don't see that explained anywhere.

US judge denies Alec Baldwin’s bid to throw out manslaughter case

New Mexico Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer rejected arguments made by Baldwin’s lawyers.

uk.yahoo.com

 

[Retro]

Looking up the Rust movie on IMDB now shows that's now gone from there as in it doesn't show up in a name search and also not in Baldwin's film credits. However, Googling "rust site:imdb.com" resulted in the link below, which still works, for now.

You can see that there's no release date on it and I guess it will now understandably never see the light of day even though it was eventually finished. One could just see everyone checking out the scene where the accident happened where he's just holding the gun without firing it, which is in rather bad taste, as obviously the film makers have done another take afterwards.

Rust | Western

Rust: Directed by Joel Souza. With Travis Fimmel, Frances Fisher, Alec Baldwin, Jake Busey. A boy left to fend for himself and his younger brother following their parents' deaths in 1880s. Kansas goes on the run with his long-estranged grandfather after he is sentenced to hang for the accidental...

www.imdb.com

 

[Tiffany]

It looks like a judge in New Mexico has just denied Alec Baldwin's request for dismissal of his manslaughter indictment.

 

[Crims]

It looks like a judge in New Mexico has just denied Alec Baldwin's request for dismissal of his manslaughter indictment.

Thanks for the update Tiff

 

[Retro]

Well, this is a twist. The case against Baldwin has been dismissed due to withheld evidence by the prosecution and this time he won't be retried, so he's free and clear, finally. I still don't get why he was prosecuted in the first place, as I explained above.

We'll now never know how that gun went off either, as Baldwin maintains that he didn't press that trigger and the gun was smashed with a mallet by investigators for some reason. I reckon he did press it, if only involuntarily and either doesn't remember it, or is lying.

I wonder if the Rust movie will finally be released now. If it is, you can be sure that everyone will want to watch it just to see that scene.

Finally, with Baldwin being rich and famous, I wonder if he's going to countersue. I suspect he'll just want to put it behind him.

Alec Baldwin broke down in tears as a New Mexico judge dismissed the involuntary manslaughter case against him for a fatal shooting on the set of the film Rust.

The trial collapsed three days into Baldwin's trial in Santa Fe, at a court just miles from where Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer, was shot with a revolver that Mr Baldwin was using in rehearsals.

It is the second time the case against the actor has been dismissed since the October 2021 shooting. He will not be tried again.

His lawyers alleged police and prosecutors hid evidence - a batch of bullets - that could have been connected to the shooting.

A key aspect of the case has been how live ammunition ended up on the set and Mr Baldwin’s lawyers have questioned the investigation and mistakes made by authorities who processed the scene.

Alec Baldwin's Rust manslaughter case dismissed

The actor weeps as the trial collapses with a prosecutor quitting amid a row over a batch of bullets.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Retro]

Here's another, more detailed article about this dismissal.

Alec Baldwin’s Rust shooting trial dismissed after lawyers say evidence was withheld

New Mexico judge agrees charges should be dropped after lawyers said state ‘buried’ evidence about live ammunition

www.theguardian.com

 

[Astro What]

We'll now never know how that gun went off either, as Baldwin maintains that he didn't press that trigger and the gun was smashed with a mallet by investigators for some reason.

As a long time gun enthusiast... I know exactly how that gun went off. The hammer was pulled back and then the trigger pulled. Guns don't just "go off on their own". There is ALWAYS an outside influence, even in the case of a malfunction (those usually caused by lack of/poor maintenance or poor design).
I can take a Colt 45 single action, load it and cock it and leave it on a table for the next 100 years, and barring a spring rusting away, the gun will not fire. Even with a spring rusting, odds are other components of the firearm will have rusted that prevents the hammer from falling if the rust was bad enough to destroy a spring.
Every accidental shooting I ever investigated (or was involved in) it was always discovered someone had pulled the trigger or the trigger had caught on an inanimate object and was depressed. I never in my career discovered a gun that just was sitting there and went off on it's own.
I did hear of one from a friend, but that was back to poor maintenance. The owner had disassembled it to clean it and put it back together incorrectly.

Now, was it his fault for not knowing that the weapon was loaded with live rounds? No.
Did he use poor gun handling. Most definitely yes.
I've worked security on several "western" shows that were recorded at a local steam train depot. In all the ones that I worked, in the shootouts the guns were NEVER pointed at anyone. All appearance of such was done by camera angle and cut-aways.

Honestly, there probably should not have been a criminal trial... but I do see justification in a civil one.
The one that had criminal liability was the person responsible for loading the guns and verifying the ammo was not "live".

 

[Retro]

As a long time gun enthusiast... I know exactly how that gun went off. The hammer was pulled back and then the trigger pulled. Guns don't just "go off on their own". There is ALWAYS an outside influence, even in the case of a malfunction (those usually caused by lack of/poor maintenance or poor design).

Yeah, that's my thinking too and I think he's lying, he knows he pulled the trigger even if inadvertently. For example, give me a mouse with one of those side thumb buttons and I'm often pressing it involuntarily, so I have to disable it in software to prevent this it from registering an unwanted action. It's pretty easy for something similar to happen when filming a scene where the actor is supposed to just hover their finger over the trigger and not pull it, like in this film.

I've worked security on several "western" shows that were recorded at a local steam train depot. In all the ones that I worked, in the shootouts the guns were NEVER pointed at anyone. All appearance of such was done by camera angle and cut-aways.

Ok, you have the experience here but talking negligence, if a prop gun is never supposed to have live bullets in it, why does it matter what the actor does with it and why have scenes filmed in that way? It's right that the armourer got 18 months for the live rounds as they certainly were negligent. We also don't know how the live rounds got there in the first place and never will. I do wonder if there was some bad intention by someone to put those there in the first place, but don't have any evidence of this. It's just so weird that it should happen.

 

[Astro What]

why does it matter what the actor does with it and why have scenes filmed in that way? I

Gun safety 101. Even though it is a prop gun, if it's capable of firing a shell, it's capable of doing injury. Even blanks can cause severe injury, and I have yet to find any CGI that makes a gun going off look identical to a real gun.

 

[Retro]

ok, getcha, makes sense. I've only ever seen guns on TV, never handled one, so only know the basics.

 

[Astro What]

ok, getcha, makes sense. I've only ever seen guns on TV, never handled one, so only know the basics.

yeah, most blanks have a plug of some type (usually paper, wax or cloth) to keep the powder in place. But that plug gets ejected when the round is fired and is still a projectile that can cause injury (and even death) at several feet.