Alec Baldwin to stand trial for manslaughter over ‘Rust’ shooting

Actor Alec Baldwin, 66, goes on trial next Tuesday (7) due to the charge of manslaughter for the shooting incident that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in the film “Rust”, on October 21, 2021.

The trial will take place in Santa Fe, in the western United States, and is expected to last up to eight days. If convicted, the actor could face up to 18 months in prison.

Baldwin was rehearsing a scene with a gun when it went off, hitting the professional and wounding another man. Baldwin claims the gun went off accidentally and that he did not know the gun was loaded with live ammunition.

In April last year, prosecutors dismissed a first criminal charge against the actor, saying they needed more time to investigate. A forensic analysis concluded that Baldwin had pulled the trigger to shoot, contradicting his claim.

In March, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the person responsible for handling the gun on set, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for manslaughter for failing to follow protocols.

Joshua Kastenberg, a professor of criminal law at the University of New Mexico and a former prosecutor, told the Guardian that while the shooting was unintentional, prosecutors in the case will have to convince the jury that Baldwin was negligent.

“If you’re going to find someone guilty of criminal negligence, you have to prove that the [réu] is responsible for the negligence almost in its entirety, and that is difficult in a case where there was more than one participant. And a jury has already found someone else guilty.”