Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ Case Dismissed by Judge After Defense Claimed Evidence Was Withheld
In a remarkable twist two full days into Alec Baldwin’s “Rust” trial for involuntary manslaughter, the judge has dismissed the case against Baldwin after the defense alleged that the prosecution withheld new evidence from them.
The judge said the late discovery of the evidence in the trial impacted the fundamental ability for the defense to argue the case and the overall fairness of the proceedings about the death of Halyna Hutchins. The judge also claimed prosecution knew about the evidence and chose to not disclose it to the defense.
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“There is no way for the court to right this wrong,” Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said in court on Friday. Baldwin could be seen teary eyed as the judge made her decision, his head in his hands and hugging his attorney.
The decision came in a whirlwind as the trial was ongoing. A manila envelope of previously unseen evidence was brought into the courtroom containing ammunition. The prosecutor Kari Morrissey said that she had previously examined the rounds and felt they were immaterial to the case because they did not resemble the ones brought to the “Rust” set. When the judge herself inspected the ammunition, coming off her bench and putting on latex gloves, it did appear there was a similarity, and a crime scene technician testified that at least one of the rounds had similarity.
It was found that the new ballistics evidence emerged after the conclusion of the trial against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, in which a friend of Gutierrez-Reed’s father Thell Reed, a man named Troy Teske, came forward to law enforcement with new information about where the live round could have come from on the set of the film, which had been the key point in determining who was at fault.
Presented with this new evidence, Baldwin’s defense filed a motion to dismiss the case, and the judge earlier today sent the jury home with the intention to resume on Monday. Now though it’s all over.
Baldwin faced up to 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter, exactly what Gutierrez-Reed was convicted and sentenced to back in April.
In another dramatic and tense exchange just before the judge dismissed the case, the prosecutor herself took the witness stand under oath and faced questioning from Spiro. Spiro pointedly asked her if she disliked Baldwin and if she had previously made disparaging remarks about him during witness testimony. He asked if Morrissey ever referred to him as a “cocksucker” and an “arrogant prick.” Morrissey said she respected Baldwin’s work on film and on “Saturday Night Live,” and said he did not recall saying either statement and denied saying that she intended to teach Baldwin a lesson.
From the beginning, the “Rust” case has been criticized for some legal errors at the hand of the state. Baldwin was originally charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. One of those charges included a firearm enhancement that carried a five-year prison sentence. But the law he was accused of breaking did not take effect until seven months after the “Rust” shooting took place. The charges could not be brought retroactively, and the charges were forced to be downgraded and then dropped.
A year later, Baldwin was charged again with involuntary manslaughter, but because of the initial error, the state was unable to try both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed at the same time. And in a pre-trial, the prosecution lost a key element of their case and was unable to present any evidence about Baldwin being a producer on the film and bared responsibility for the lax safety standards on the “Rust” set.
The whole drama brings to an end the saga that began on October 21, 2021 and has consumed Baldwin’s life since, in which a gun containing a live round and held by Baldwin discharged and killed the film’s cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured the film’s director Joel Souza.
It’s unclear if any charges will again be brought against Baldwin or if Gutierrez-Reed will now have a chance to appeal her own conviction.
“Rust” completed filming but has still not seen the light of day or been released.
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