Alec Baldwin has been indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter, as prosecutors again seek to hold the actor accountable for the on-set death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Baldwin, 65, was initially charged in January 2023. But charges were dropped three months later, after Baldwin’s defense team raised questions about whether his Colt .45 was functioning properly when it fired.
Hutchins was preparing to film a scene with Baldwin at a ranch near Santa Fe, N.M., in October 2021 when the gun went off.
Baldwin has maintained that he did not pull the trigger. But if convicted, Baldwin faces up to 18 months in prison.
“We look forward to our day in court,” said Baldwin’s attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, in a statement on Friday.
“This fatal incident was the consequence of the hammer being manually retracted to its fully rearward and cocked position followed, at some point, by the pull or rearward depression of the trigger,” the report concluded. “
Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.”
“It is unfortunate that a terrible tragedy has been turned into misguided prosecution,” Nikas said. “We will answer any charges in court.”
The film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, goes on trial on Feb. 21 on charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence.
Gutierrez Reed mistakenly loaded live bullet into Baldwin’s gun, which was supposed to contain only dummies. It remains unclear how live rounds became mixed in with dummy ones.
Hutchins’ widower, Matthew Hutchins, filed wrongful death lawsuit shortly after the shooting, but reached settlement in October 2022.
The settlement provided for insurance funds and portion of the film’s profits to benefit the couple’s son, who was 9 when his mother was killed.
At the time of the settlement, Matthew Hutchins indicated he did not blame Baldwin for the shooting.
“I have no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame (to the producers or Mr. Baldwin),” Hutchins said. “All of us believe Halyna’s death was a terrible accident. I am grateful that the producers and the entertainment community have come together to pay tribute to Halyna’s final work.”
A few months later, however, when Baldwin was first charged with manslaughter, Hutchins’ attorney said the charges were warranted.
The initial prosecutors, Mary Carmack-Altwies and Andrea Reeb, held Baldwin responsible not only for pulling the trigger, but also for a series of management lapses that led to relaxed safety standards on set.
However, the New Mexico division of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration concluded that Baldwin, though he was a producer on the film, was not in a position of management authority, and was not culpable for the lack of oversight.
The first assistant director, David Halls, pleaded no contest last March to a misdemeanor gun charge. He was given six months of unsupervised probation.
