Alec Baldwin Accuses Prosecutors of ‘Rust’ Shooting for ‘Vicious Prosecution’
Alec Baldwin takes legal action after prosecutors seek criminal charges against him in the death of Rust a photographer Halyna Hutchins.
Baldwin, 66, is suing the Santa Fe, New Mexico, special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey and First District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwiesinter alia, of brutal persecution and civil rights violations, per The Hollywood Reporter again The Los Angeles Times.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New Mexico on Thursday, January 9, says that the prosecution team deliberately withheld evidence that would have protected him from involuntary manslaughter.
The lawsuit says the defendants were “blinded by their desire to condemn Alec Baldwin for all the wrong reasons, and at any cost.” The defendants have always sought to scapegoat Baldwin for the actions and inactions of others, regardless of the evidence or the law.”
“Criminal prosecutions should be about the pursuit of truth and justice, not the pursuit of personal or political gain or victimization of the innocent,” Baldwin’s attorneys said. Luke Nikas again Alex Spiro means a statement to LA Times. “Kari Morrissey and the other defendants have violated that basic principle, repeatedly, and trampled on Alec Baldwin’s rights.”
“In October 2023, the prosecution team became aware that Mr. Baldwin intended to file a retaliation case,” Morrissey said in a statement sent to the station. “We look forward to our day in court.”
Baldwin faced two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the accidental shooting of Hutchins in October 2021. Hutchins was shot and killed Rust director Joel Souza was injured when a real gun fired a real bullet on the set of a Western movie.
Baldwin, who denied firing the gun, was later charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in January 2023 and pleaded not guilty a month later. Criminal charges were dropped in April 2023. However, he was charged a second time with involuntary manslaughter and went on trial in July 2024.
The second case was dismissed by a First District judge Mary Marlowe Sommer Last summer. Sommer agreed with Baldwin’s attorneys that prosecutors withhold evidence that may be related to the shooting.
“There’s no way the court is going to fix this,” Sommer told the court, per NBC News. “The penalty of dismissal is the only valid remedy.”
In December 2024, Morrissey, who wanted to reinstate the charges against Baldwin, announced that the case against the actor was dropped due to lack of support from the district attorney’s office. As a result, Baldwin will not face criminal charges for this incident.
“The state’s efforts to continue to prosecute this case in a fair and comprehensive manner have been met with numerous obstacles that have jeopardized its ability to prosecute in a manner that is fully governed by the law,” Morrissey said in a statement. The New York Times.
Film producer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reedhe was found guilty of manslaughter in March 2024 and sentenced to 18 months in prison. His lawyers’ appeal for a new trial was rejected in September 2024.
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