Alec Baldwin arrives at the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award Gala at the Hilton Midtown in New York, on Dec. 6, 2022.ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images
The decision by New Mexico lawyers to drop charges against Alec Baldwin in the shooting death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins marked a logical conclusion to a prosecution that was flawed from the start, legal experts said on Friday.
The move followed new evidence about the gun Mr. Baldwin was holding when it fired the bullet that killed Ms. Hutchins during the movie’s filming, a person close to state prosecutors said.
The information further undermined the prosecution’s case after a series of legal fumbles, pushing them to dismiss charges ahead of a May 3 hearing where a judge was to decide whether there was sufficient evidence to try Mr. Baldwin and Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.
The two special prosecutors said on Thursday they would file court papers to dismiss Mr. Baldwin’s charges and continue to prosecute Ms. Gutierrez-Reed. A court hearing is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday.
“This very weak case against Baldwin should never have been filed in the first place,” said Ambrosio Rodriguez, a former prosecutor with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office in California. “I don’t see how they could ever prove their case with this new evidence.”
Mr. Baldwin’s attorney Luke Nikas met one of the prosecutors in Santa Fe last week to present evidence the revolver had been modified with new parts since its manufacture by Italian gunmaker F.LLI Pietta.
The information compromised the prosecution’s argument the gun was in fully functioning order and could only have fired if Mr. Baldwin recklessly pulled the trigger, according to the person familiar with the case.
Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies in January charged Mr. Baldwin and Ms. Gutierrez-Reed with two counts of criminal involuntary manslaughter, a crime in which a person shows reckless disregard for another person’s safety.
Defense attorneys proceeded to dismantle the prosecution case. They forced the state to downgrade charges in February, then triggered the resignation of a special prosecutor with a political conflict of interest and forced Ms. Carmack-Altwies to step down in March.
An underlying weakness in the case was prosecutors’ inability to say how live rounds got on the movie set outside Santa Fe where Ms. Hutchins died on Oct. 21, 2021.
“Not having an answer as to the source of the live rounds is a big flaw, because the defence would hammer that throughout the whole trial and it would play well with a jury,” said Los Angeles personal injury attorney Miguel Custodio.