Alec Baldwin
From the moment a gun went off on a New Mexico movie set last month, launching a bullet that killed ascendant cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, two questions have swirled around the tragic accident.
How could this happen? And who is to blame?
Unsurprisingly, many have focused on the man who was holding the weapon when it went off: actor Alec Baldwin, who was set to star in the rugged western “Rust.” But legal experts and former law enforcement officials say despite the fact that he was holding the Colt .45 revolver that killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza, Baldwin may actually face the least threat of criminal prosecution out of anyone who handled the weapon that day.
Rather, experts say, assistant director David Halls and set armorer Hannah Guttierez Reed are in far more danger of facing a manslaughter charge in Hutchins’ slaying if New Mexico 1st Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-altwies decides anyone should face prosecution.
“Alec Baldwin may very well have pulled that trigger, and that bullet may have killed that woman, but what’s crucial to the criminal justice system, is what he knew or should have known,” said Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor who now serves as a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. “It’s not enough to just say that his fingerprints are on that trigger.”
While Baldwin’s conduct appeared to run counter to commonsense gun safety rules — there’s no indication that he checked to see if the weapon was loaded or attempted to point it in a safe direction — legal experts said the fact that Baldwin was following directions from others and rehearsing a scene on a movie set at the time severely lessens his culpability.
Legal observers say prosecutors are likely to focus on the behavior of those who would have been responsible for care of the weapons and safety on set.
Several experts told the Los Angeles Times they were concerned by statements Halls made to Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office investigators after the shooting, statements that were first revealed in an affidavit for a search warrant made public last week. Halls told detectives he saw three rounds in the revolver before it was given to Baldwin and acknowledged he “should have checked all of them, but didn’t,” according to the affidavit.