The Warped Case Against Alec Baldwin

It’s a question that brings us to the trial of actor Alec Baldwin, which began today, nearly three years after he shot and killed a woman on a movie set outside Sante Fe. The charge is involuntary manslaughter, not murder; Baldwin, who fired the reproduction revolver that killed Rust’s cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, had been told the weapon wasn’t loaded. But through some combination of negligence and incompetence, there was one real bullet in the gun’s chamber. 

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What happened that day, in October 2021, was a horrible tragedy, but also unambiguously an accident—and yet, Baldwin has been subjected to an unusually zealous prosecution by New Mexico authorities. It’s a case that illuminates just how complex things can get when criminal justice intersects with a person’s celebrity status.

Ed Morrissey

Read it all, but Rosenfeld misses some key issues here. The industry's practices on firearm handling require anyone who handles the weapon to ensure that it's safe to use. Adam Baldwin (no relation) has spoken about SAG-AFTRA procedures in our podcasts that have been in place since Brandon Lee's death on set during The Crow, procedures that require the actor to personally check the weapon as well as the armorer. Departing from such industry standard procedures is negligent, and arguably grossly negligent -- the legal standard for involuntary manslaughter. That's what the jury will consider. 

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