Alec Baldwin’s Rust Trial Dismissed Over Hidden Evidence
Alec Baldwin became emotional as a New Mexico judge dismissed the involuntary manslaughter case against him concerning a fatal shooting on the set of the film Rust.
The trial ended three days into Baldwin’s trial in Santa Fe, near where Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer, was fatally shot with a revolver that Baldwin was using during rehearsals.
This is the second time the case against Baldwin has been dismissed since the incident in October 2021. Baldwin will not face trial again.
“There are too many people who have supported me to thank just now,” Baldwin wrote on Instagram on Saturday. “To all of you, you will never know how much I appreciate your kindness toward my family.”
His lawyers claimed that police and prosecutors concealed evidence—a batch of bullets—that might have been connected to the shooting.
A significant aspect of the case concerned how live ammunition ended up on the set, with Baldwin’s lawyers questioning the investigation and errors made by authorities who processed the scene.
Their motion to dismiss led to a series of events, including the resignation of one of the two special prosecutors on the case, and Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissing the jury to hear from multiple witnesses.
Baldwin’s lawyer argued that the bullets could have been related to Hutchins’ death but were filed in a different case with a different number.
Prosecutors maintained that the ammunition was not connected to the case and did not match bullets found on the Rust set.
However, the judge ruled that the evidence should have been shared with Baldwin’s defense team.
“The state’s willful withholding of this information was intentional and deliberate,” she said in court. “There is no way for the court to right this wrong.”
Prosecutors will not be able to refile the charge against Baldwin, as the judge did not declare a mistrial but dismissed the case with prejudice.
“It was the nuclear option. The case is over,” Los Angeles trial attorney Joshua Ritter told the BBC.