USA Trial against Baldwin dismissed - tears in court

The trial drama surrounding the fatal shooting in the western "Rust" comes to a surprising end - emotional scenes erupt in the Santa Fe (New Mexico) court.

Actor Alec Baldwin, accused of involuntary manslaughter, bursts into tears as the judge draws a line under the ongoing trial. At the request of Baldwin's defense attorneys, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case against the Hollywood star on Friday (local time).

The defense attorneys had accused the public prosecutor's office of withholding evidence and thus of gross misconduct. With a serious face, the judge agreed after a legal back and forth in the courtroom. The late discovery of this evidence would affect the "fundamental fairness" of the proceedings, Sommer said. There was no way for the court to rectify this omission, she continued. Dismissal of the case is the only remedy.

Baldwin bursts into tears

Baldwin listens to the judge's remarks with tears in his eyes. He takes off his glasses, visibly overwhelmed and relieved, puts a hand over his eyes and lowers his head. The actor hugs his lawyers, then falls into the arms of his wife, Hilaria Baldwin.

If convicted, the father of eight would have faced up to 18 months in prison. After this dramatic turn of events, he leaves the courthouse a free man. On his way out, he is bombarded with shouts from reporters, but Baldwin does not comment at first.

The trial, which has been ongoing since Tuesday, is about the question of whether the 66-year-old actor was negligent in the fatal shooting of a camerawoman on the film set of the 2021 western "Rust" and should therefore be sent to prison. Lead actor Baldwin had drawn a revolver during rehearsals, as requested by the director. But instead of harmless blanks, live ammunition went off. A bullet hit camerawoman Halyna Hutchins (42) and fatally injured her.

Allegations against the public prosecutor's office

Baldwin's defense lawyers are now claiming that the public prosecutor's office withheld important evidence from them. The case concerns a series of bullets that appeared a few months ago and were presented in an envelope by the judge in court on Friday. She put on blue protective gloves and inspected the ammunition in front of the defense and prosecution. From the point of view of the defense attorneys, this ammunition should have been part of the proceedings earlier in ballistic examinations - but the prosecution had concealed it, Baldwin's attorneys argued.

Many unanswered questions

The question of where the live ammunition that arrived at the Western film location in 2021 came from has not yet been fully clarified. This spring, the young weapons master Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was already on trial in Santa Fe. She was responsible for gun safety during the shoot. In addition to blanks and dummy cartridges, the investigators found six real cartridges. One of them had been inserted into the revolver drum during loading. The prosecution accused Gutierrez-Reed of disregarding safety precautions and failing to check the ammunition. The jury found the young woman guilty of involuntary manslaughter in March. Judge Sommer imposed the maximum sentence - 18 months in prison.

A former police officer had handed in the live ammunition now shown in court to investigators in Santa Fe in March. However, the main prosecutor, Kari T. Morrissey, decided that it had nothing to do with the case because, in her view, it was too different from the bullets on the "Rust" set. The judge now questioned this. She also sharply reprimanded Morrissey for not including this possible evidence in the documents for the "Rust" trial and withholding it from the defense lawyers. The evidence had been literally hidden from them, lamented Baldwin's lawyer Luke Nikas in court.

Long legal process

For Baldwin, a long, legal rollercoaster ride is now coming to an end with the threat of a prison sentence. The actor had insisted on his innocence from the very beginning. Just a few weeks after the fatal shooting, he claimed in a TV interview: "I didn't pull the trigger". He would never point a gun at a person and pull the trigger. He had "no idea" how the live ammunition found its way into the gun.

The first charges against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were then brought in January 2023, but the allegations against the actor were initially dropped three months later. Further investigations and forensic analysis were required, it was said at the time. Among other things, the FBI investigators examined whether a possible malfunction of the Colt could have led to the triggering. According to a report by firearms experts, however, the trigger must have been pulled. With new evidence in hand, the prosecution retried Baldwin in January 2024 - he again pleaded not guilty.

Even after the end of the trial against Baldwin, there are still unanswered questions. Gutierrez-Reed filed an appeal against the guilty verdict against her weeks ago, and Armsmaster is demanding a new trial. The public is also likely to find out more about the Baldwins soon. In June, the couple announced a new family project. The reality show "The Baldwins" is set to start next year on the US channel TLC.

SDA