Alec Baldwin manslaughter trial halted

Photo: Ramsay of Give Pool Photo via Associated Press According to the defense, this insistence on pursuing him vitiated the investigation and led the police to overlook certain leads.

Romain Fonsegrives – Agence France-Presse in Los Angeles

Posted at 3:19 p.m.

• United States

A twist at the Alec Baldwin trial: the judge interrupted the hearing on Friday and sent the jurors home, due to the discovery of new bullets to which the defense never had access, a defect which could call into question the procedure.

The 66-year-old actor is being prosecuted for manslaughter on the set of his western Rust in 2021. He faces up to 18 months in prison.

On the set of this film shot in New Mexico, the star brandished a weapon supposed to contain only blank bullets but which had fired a very real projectile. The shooting killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and injured director Joel Souza.

Marked by numerous weaknesses and twists and turns, the investigation never established how live bullets, absolutely forbidden on set, ended up on the set of Rust.

Almost three years later, this question now haunts Mr. Baldwin's trial, and could lead to its outright dismissal.

His lawyers have filed an appeal to this effect Thursday evening, accusing the police of having “buried” evidence to explain the tragedy.

Because at the beginning of the year, two and a half years after the events, the Santa Fe sheriff received a batch of bullets from a former police officer, claiming that this ammunition corresponded to the deadly bullet. Enough to potentially establish its origin and clarify the responsibilities of each person in the tragedy.

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However, these bullets were never transmitted to the defense, which did not could have them examined.

“It’s time to close this case,” Luke Nikas, one of Baldwin’s lawyers, said Friday morning.

An objection taken very seriously by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, who examined the bullets herself with a pair of blue latex gloves.

The magistrate dismissed the jurors until Monday morning, the time to decide on a possible annulment of the trial.

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“False lead”

According to the prosecution, these bullets do not correspond to the one that took the life by Ms. Hutchins, a promising 42-year-old cinematographer from Ukraine.

“It’s a false lead,” assured prosecutor Kari Morrissey. “It has no probative value. »

But the prosecutor seemed very uncomfortable explaining why this batch of bullets did not play a greater role in the investigation.

“I never saw them until this morning,” she explained to the judge, nervously.

< p>Called to testify, Marissa Poppell, a technical expert for the Santa Fe sheriff, explained that a report had been written on these munitions, without being sent to the prosecution.

< p>She also found that there was no match between these bullets and that of the homicide, despite a certain visual resemblance.

The judge must now hear only new witnesses during a technical hearing which will decide the fate of the trial. The film's weapons supplier, Seth Kenney, and an investigator will be questioned about these bullets.

The gunsmith from Rust, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was previously tried separately and received 18 months in prison in April.

Before this trial, the defense of Mr. Baldwin had already multiplied the appeals to obtain its annulment.

The actor has always explained that he had been assured that the weapon was harmless, and denies having pulled the trigger.

His lawyers argue that even if he accidentally squeezed her, that doesn't warrant a conviction. According to film industry guidelines, it is not up to actors to verify that a weapon is safe.

The prosecution accuses Mr. Baldwin of having behaved erratically on set, neglecting basic safety rules and putting pressure on the rest of the team.

But according to the defense, this insistence to pursue him vitiated the investigation and led the police to neglect certain leads.