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Alec Baldwin
A special prosecutor who on Friday resigned from the involuntary manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin said she did so because she felt the state should have voluntarily dismissed it.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer would dismiss the case against Baldwin later that day, dismissing it “with prejudice,” meaning charges cannot be brought against the actor again.
Baldwin, 66, had faced a manslaughter charge in the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was killed in 2021 on a New Mexico set for the film “Rust” as Baldwin held a revolver intended to be used as a prop. “Rust” gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted in March on a manslaughter charge in the shooting and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
“Based on my evaluation of the evidence that I was aware of and that I saw when I joined this case, there were numerous clips from the filming on the set that showed that Mr. Baldwin, unfortunately, did engage in some antics with this weapon,” Erlinda Ocampo Johnson told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo on Friday night.
GettySANTA FE, NEW MEXICO – JULY 12: Alec Baldwin hugs his attorney Alex Spiro at the conclusion of his involuntary manslaughter trial at the First Judicial District Court on July 12, 2024 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The involuntary manslaughter trial was dismissed by a judge on Friday after she ruled that key evidence about a fatal shooting on the set of “Rust” had been withheld from the defense.
“For example, one individual who was interviewed by OSHA investigators and testified or gave an interview that there was a time when he allowed Mr. Baldwin to use him as a sort of target to fire blanks at him and his person, and obviously these are real weapons. You don’t do that with real weapons,” Johnson added.
“You’re not using another person as a target, as a human target, so that could potentially be reckless.”
Johnson denied accusations that he dramatically quit the case because the hearing over the handling of bullets and guns on the set of the ill-fated western was public. “You don’t use another person as a target, as a human target, so that could potentially be unwise,” he added.
GettyAlec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria Baldwin embrace during his involuntary manslaughter trial.
“For example, one individual who was interviewed by OSHA investigators and testified or gave an interview that there was a time when he allowed Mr. Baldwin to use him as a sort of target to fire blanks at him and his person, and obviously these are real weapons. You don’t do that with real weapons,” Johnson added.
“You’re not using another person as a target, as a human target, so that could potentially be reckless.”
GettyAmerican actor Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria Baldwin embrace during his involuntary manslaughter trial at the Santa Fe County District Court in Santa Fe, New Mexico, July 12, 2024. Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial was thrown out by a judge on Friday after he ruled that key evidence about a fatal shooting on the set of “Rust” had been withheld from the defense.
“I left because I learned of this evidence when the public learned of it yesterday, late in the afternoon,” he said, referring to information the trial judge said the state intentionally withheld from the defense team.
GettyAlec Baldwin
“I took on the case at the end of April, so I had to catch up. I was not involved at all in the Hannah Gutierrez case. So I didn’t know that this individual had brought this ammunition to the sheriff’s department and provided it to the deputies. I learned all that yesterday,” Johnson insisted.
“When the motion hearing started, my position was… we have an obligation as prosecutors, we have an obligation not only to the people but to the defendant and our obligation is to make sure that all the evidence is turned over,” he continued. “You don’t use another person as a target, as a human target, so that could potentially be unwise.”
“And so when I see that something is not right and when I see that the law is not being followed, I don’t care who you are or where you are, you make the right decision. And for me, the right decision was to approach the judge and ask him to allow me to leave before the circus of the hearing began.”
Baldwin, 66, broke down in tears as the judge dismissed the charges and ruled they could not be brought again.
