Alec Baldwin says he never pulled the trigger.
It’s a key issue in the “30 Rock” star and father of eight’s manslaughter trial, which begins with jury selection on Tuesday in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Prosecutors allege that Baldwin pointed a .45-caliber cowboy gun at cinematographer Halina Hutchins, killing her, while filming the movie “Lust” in October 2021. They also allege that the deadly decision was just one of many reckless choices he made that ignored Hollywood safety regulations.
Baldwin, 66, has maintained his innocence and vehemently denies responsibility for Hutchins’ death. He claims he should never have been given live ammunition and that the gun malfunctioned and fired when he cocked the hammer.
The trial, expected to last 10 days, will be streamed live on Court TV each day after jury selection.
Opening arguments could begin as early as Wednesday.
Baldwin, a regular on New York Public Radio and “Saturday Night Live,” faces up to 18 months in prison if convicted.
That’s the same sentence given to “Lust” gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez Reed when she was convicted of manslaughter. Baldwin’s lawyers argue she is one of the people responsible for the death of her 42-year-old mother, Hutchins.
Gutierrez Reed is appealing his conviction.
Baldwin appeared in court Monday for his final pre-trial hearing wearing a suit and tie, glasses and short, gray hair.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer issued two important rulings in Baldwin’s favor.
First, she said, jurors would not hear about his status as a co-producer on the film and would only be presented with evidence about his role as an actor in the Western.
Special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson had argued that the trial should have questioned his responsibility as a supervisor to show he was “fully aware” of his role in keeping the site safe.
The judge rejected that reasoning, saying he was “genuinely troubled by the state’s position that it seeks to prove that as a producer he failed to follow the guidelines and that, as an actor, Mr. Baldwin made mistakes that led to Ms. Hutchins’ death.”
The judge also said he would not admit evidence of previous fatal gun accidents on other Hollywood sets, including the famous death of Brandon Lee during the filming of the 1993 movie “The Crow,” in which Crow was shot in the abdomen by a makeshift bullet that was accidentally left in the gun.
In a separate motion, Marlowe Sommer joined prosecutors in rejecting findings from a state workplace safety investigation that placed the blame primarily on Deputy Director David Halls, who prosecutors said downplayed Baldwin’s role in the tragedy.
Halls was given six months probation after pleading guilty to failing to check whether the gun he gave to Baldwin was ammunition before handing it over to Hutchins shortly before her tragic death. Halls may be called as a prosecution witness at trial.
Judge Marlowe Sommer also allowed the prosecution to show jurors clear photos of Hutchins’ injuries published in the autopsy report, as well as body camera footage from the officers who responded to the shooting.
The trial marks the second time prosecutors have brought manslaughter charges against Baldwin in Hutchins’ death.
Prosecutors initially dropped the charges in April 2023 following a dispute over the testing of the revolver that fired the fatal bullet.
Prosecutors said further investigation and forensic analysis required time.
Baldwin, who had been practicing cross-draw with a replica Colt, claimed the gun had misfired, and federal investigators later determined there was no other way the bullets could have been fired.
Prosecutors allege that Baldwin was reckless in his handling of firearms throughout filming, including “firing blanks at the film crew,” using the gun as a pointing stick and having his finger on the trigger when it wasn’t required.
Baldwin’s team said it was “incomprehensible” that live ammunition was brought onto the set and blamed gunsmith Gutierrez Reed, whose job it was to ensure the weapons were used safely.
But Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers argued during the trial that she was working two jobs on set and was being rushed by Baldwin.
With post wire
