Trial: Trial against Baldwin discontinued – tears in court

The trial drama surrounding the fatal shooting during the filming of the western “Rust” has come to a surprising end – there are emotional scenes in the court in Santa Fe (New Mexico). The actor Alec Baldwin, who is accused of negligent homicide, breaks down in tears when the judge draws a line under the ongoing trial. At the request of Baldwin’s defense lawyers, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer discontinues the proceedings against the Hollywood star on Friday (local time).

The defense had accused the prosecution of withholding evidence and thus of gross misconduct. With a serious expression, the judge agreed after a legal back and forth in the courtroom. The late discovery of this evidence would affect the “fundamental fairness” of the proceedings, said Sommer. There was no way for the court to correct this omission, she continued. Dismissal of the proceedings was the only legal remedy.

Baldwin breaks into tears

Baldwin listens to the judge’s statements with tears in his eyes. He takes off his glasses, visibly overwhelmed and relieved, he puts a hand over his eyes and lowers his head. The actor hugs his lawyers, then falls into the arms of his wife, Hilaria Baldwin.

If convicted, the father of eight could have faced up to 18 months in prison. After this dramatic turn of events, he leaves the courthouse a free man. On the way out, he is bombarded with shouts from reporters, but Baldwin initially does not comment.

The trial, which has been ongoing since Tuesday, focused on the question of whether the 66-year-old actor acted negligently when he fatally shot a camerawoman on the set of the 2021 western “Rust” and should therefore go to prison. Lead actor Baldwin had pulled out a revolver during rehearsals, as requested by the director. But instead of harmless blanks, live ammunition went off. A bullet hit camerawoman Halyna Hutchins (42) and fatally injured her.

Accusations against the public prosecutor

Baldwin’s defense attorneys are now claiming that the prosecution withheld important evidence from them. This concerns a number of bullets that appeared a few months ago and were presented in an envelope by the judge in court on Friday. She put on blue protective gloves and inspected the ammunition in front of the defense attorneys and the prosecutor. From the defense attorneys’ point of view, this ammunition should have been part of the proceedings in earlier ballistics tests – but the prosecution withheld it, argued Baldwin’s lawyers.

Many open questions

The question of where the live ammunition that arrived at the western filming location in 2021 came from has not yet been fully clarified. This spring, the young gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was already on trial in Santa Fe. She was responsible for safety when handling weapons during filming. In addition to blank cartridges and so-called dummy cartridges, investigators found six real cartridges. One of them was inserted into the revolver cylinder when loading. The prosecution accused Gutierrez-Reed of ignoring safety precautions and not checking the ammunition. The jury found the young woman guilty of negligent homicide in March. Judge Sommer imposed the maximum sentence – 18 months in prison.

A former police officer had handed over the live ammunition that was now shown in court to investigators in Santa Fe in March. The lead prosecutor, Kari T. Morrissey, decided that it had nothing to do with the case because, in her view, it was too different from the bullets on the “Rust” set. The judge now questioned this. She also sharply reprimanded Morrissey for not listing this possible evidence in the documents for the “Rust” trial and for withholding it from the defense. The evidence had been literally hidden from them, Baldwin’s lawyer Luke Nikas lamented in court.

Long legal process

For Baldwin, a long legal rollercoaster ride with the threat of a prison sentence is now coming to an end. From the beginning, the actor insisted on his innocence. Just a few weeks after the fatal shot, he declared in a TV interview: “I didn’t pull the trigger.” He would never point a gun at a person and pull the trigger. He had “no idea” how the live ammunition found its way into the gun.

The first charges against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed came in January 2023, but the allegations against the actor were initially dropped three months later. Further investigations and forensic analyses were required, it was said at the time. Among other things, FBI investigators examined whether a possible malfunction of the Colt could have caused the gun to fire. However, according to a report by firearms experts, the trigger must have been pulled. With new evidence in hand, the prosecution again took action against Baldwin in January 2024 – he again pleaded not guilty.

Even after the end of the trial against Baldwin, there are still unanswered questions. Gutierrez-Reed appealed the guilty verdict against her weeks ago, and the gunsmith is demanding a new trial. The public will also soon hear more about the Baldwins. In June, the couple announced a new family project. The reality show “The Baldwins” is set to start next year on the US broadcaster TLC.