Alec Baldwin is currently facing the possibility of jail time in relation to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. His lawyers currently plan to fight these charges in court.
Actor Alec Baldwin to fight charges in court
On the set of Rust in 2021, reports surfaced that Alec Baldwin had fired a live round while filming. The actor previously stated that he wasn’t aware that a round was in the gun. He added that the gun was previously shared to be a cold gun.
However, the prosecution office has decided to move forward with charges against Alec Baldwin and the film’s armorer Gutierrez-Reed will be charged with involuntary manslaughter.
The actor’s lawyer, Luke Nikas shared his thoughts on the charges.
“This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice. Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun – or anywhere on the movie set. He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win.”
What is involuntary manslaughter?
The current charges against Reed and Baldwin simply mean that they had no malicious intent to murder. However, this did take place which makes them susceptible to criminal charges nonetheless.
A total of 18 months in prison and a fine of 5000 dollars will be presented to Alec Baldwin and Reed should the prosecutors be successful with the charges against the individuals involved.
While the process is still underway, there are still a lot of grey areas in the case against Alec Baldwin. Since the procedures in the film industry are not popular with many, it can be very hard for prosecutors to prove the actor knew about the live rounds in the gun.
In addition, the film’s assistant director, David Halls signed a plea deal for negligence in using a firearm. David is reportedly the person who handed the gun to Alec Baldwin before the fatal incident. He will be spending six months on probation and given a suspended sentence.
An arrest warrant has not been sent out for the actor but he is expected to make an appearance in court. He does have the option to do so virtually.
Source: CNN