Alec Baldwin’s criminal case, stemming from the involuntary shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film Rust in October 2021, is officially over after special prosecutor Kari Morrissey withdrew her appeal of a judge’s decision to dismiss the case over the summer.
According to Variety, the decision was announced on Monday, December 23rd, after the Arizona attorney general’s office said that it “did not intend to exhaustively pursue the appeal on behalf of the prosecution.”
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer initially dismissed Baldwin’s case on July 12th after determining that prosecutor’s office had withheld crucial evidence that may have explained how live ammunition ended up on the film’s set. “The state is highly culpable for its failure to provide discovery to the defendant,” Variety reports Marlowe Sommer saying. “Dismissal with prejudice is warranted.”
The crucial evidence, which the judge examined herself in the courtroom, consisted of bullets the defense claimed were hidden by the prosecution, after being logged under a different case number. Morrissey, identified by a witness as one of the people responsible for that decision, called herself to the witness stand to assert that she did not believe the bullets to be relevant to the case.
On the set of Rust, Baldwin was handling a prop gun during rehearsal when it accidentally fired, hitting Hutchins in the stomach and director Joel Souza in the shoulder; Hutchins died after being transported to the hospital.
Initial criminal charges against Baldwin were dropped in April 2023. However, last fall prosecutors announced their intention to refile an involuntary manslaughter charge after new evidence emerged contradicting Baldwin’s previous claim that he didn’t pull the trigger.
The film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and is currently serving 18 months in prison. Its assistant director, Dave Halls, accepted a plea agreement to settle a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.
Hutchins’ family says it still intends to pursue a civil case against Baldwin and the film’s producers.
Rust was later completed and premiered at the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage in Toruń, Poland in November. It’s slated to receive a US release in 2025.
