The film crew of the Joel Souza film Rust met an unfortunate incident on 21 October 2021 while filming in Bonanza City, New Mexico. The actor and producer Alec Baldwin accidentally shot cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins and director Joel Souza. While Souza was able to survive the impact, the shot proved fatal for the cinematographer, and she was pronounced dead later that day. Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were formally charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter by D.A. Carmack-Altwies.
Earlier reports claimed that the Emmy winner could face five years in prison under the involuntary fatal shooting. However, his attorneys filed a motion seeking to reduce the potential penalty in the Rust shooting incident. According to the latest updates in the case, they have won the argument.
Read More: “He’s convicted”: Alec Baldwin Warned by Legal Experts After His Manslaughter Charges
Alec Baldwin is Not Facing 5-Year Imprisonment
Alec Baldwin is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. One of the involuntary manslaughter counts is a fourth-degree felony, carrying 18 months in prison, along with a $5,000 fine. The second charge, however, was more severe having a mandatory five-year imprisonment.
However, his attorneys filed a motion to Santa Fe’s First Judicial District with an argument that the statutes applied by the prosecutors against him do not apply in this case. They claimed that the statue was changed in May 2022, seven months after the Rust shooting incident.
“The prosecutors, in this case, have committed an unconstitutional and elementary legal error by charging Mr. Baldwin under a statute that did not exist on the date of the accident.”
Although The Aviator actor still faces involuntary manslaughter charges, he no longer faces five-year imprisonment. The D.A. said that the “prosecution’s priority is securing justice.”
According to the New Mexico First Judicial D.A. Mary Carmack-Altwies, the District Attorney and the special prosecutor have decided to remove firearm enhancement to the involuntary manslaughter to avoid any further “litigious distractions” by the actor and his attorneys.
Alec Baldwin to Join First Hearing Virtually
The first hearing in the Rust Shooting incident will be held on February 24, and Alec Baldwin and Hannah Reed will be joining the hearing virtually. A week before the first court hearing against Baldwin and Reed, Hutchins’ husband Matthew Hutchins also joined the witness list for the preliminary hearing of the case.
Matthew Hutchins has joined the 46 witnesses in the case in a fourth amended state’s witness list for the first hearing. The virtual hearing will be held before state Judge Mary Marlowe Summer.
Earlier, reports also revealed that the cinematographer’s parents and sister sued the American actor and the production company of Rust over her death. The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and also named Hannah Gutierrez Reed in the lawsuit. While hearings have yet to begin, Alec Baldwin reportedly still intends to complete the film and take on the lead role in Rust.
Source: Deadline
