Alec Baldwin Charged

[George K]

@jon-nyc said in Alec Baldwin Charged:

Baldwin had painted himself into a corner with his public comments.

There was a NYT article saying the same thing, but I can't find it at the moment.

Here's Breitbart's take on it: https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2023/01/20/nolte-alec-baldwin-made-one-huge-mistake-he-talked/

Outside of not inspecting the gun himself, however, the dumbest thing Baldwin did was talk.

Right away, Baldwin made the biggest mistake you can make in a criminal investigation: he talked to the police.

You never-ever-ever-ever talk to the police without your attorney present. “I’m sorry, Detective, but I’m not going to talk to you without my attorney.” That’s what you say—every time. Someone breaks into your house, and you shoot him; that’s what you say. You stop a mass shooter at your local Walmart with a gun of your own; that’s what you say. No matter how innocent you might believe you are, no matter how righteous you believe you acted, you never talk to the police without your attorney.

His talking should have consisted of one word: "Lawyer."

And he can afford the best.

[George K]

[George K]

Link to video

[George K]

@Mik said in Alec Baldwin Charged:

I'm not sure I can see how he can be charged .

Formally charged yesterday.

One lawyer thinks he's going to jail. During a police interview, with no attorney present, he said that Hannah (the armorer) handed him the pistol.

"She would show me the gun, or, she would say 'Cold gun...do you want to check?'"

And he declined to check it. According to this lawyer this is an admission that he knew that the weapon was, or could be, dangerous, and he disregarded that risk by not checking it.

Link to video

[Renauda]

@George-K

No comment other than let the courtroom drama begin….. There’s comedy tonight!

[Doctor Phibes]

I still find it bizarre how it's perfectly ok for everybody and their brother to discuss cases like this before they even start. Back in blighty these folks would be done for contempt of court or for potentially prejudicing a jury.

Trial by media isn't a good thing.

[Jolly]

You're right, but it's America...

[LuFins Dad]

I still think that a big part of his culpability comes from the fact that he was a producer, not just an actor. There’s a responsibility on the producer to ensure all of the appropriate safety measures are occurring as they should. If he was aware of the guns on set actually being used for target shooting and such, and then used the gun without checking then yes, he bears some responsibility.

The armorer? She’s fvcked. It’s a shame. Her dad is supposed to be one of the best armorer in Hollywood. But it’s not as much of a shame as it is for the woman who died and her family.

[George K]

[Horace]

Baldwin will resume production of Rust:

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-64646939

I guess the movie will do pretty well, with all this publicity.

[Catseye3]

@Horace said in Alec Baldwin Charged:

Baldwin will resume production of Rust:
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-64646939

Well. You go, Mr. Sensitive.

[George K]

Baker is fun...

Link to video

"I don't see how Hutchins was killed by a gun that was supposed to be a prop without negligence."

Yeah....

[George K]

tl;dw

Baldwin should have said exactly one thing: "Lawyer."

Everything else he said can, AND WILL, be held against him.

Baker's analysis is damning.

[George K]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/alec-baldwin-may-face-involuntary-manslaughter-charge-rust-shooting-pr-rcna104138?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma&taid=652ec057d1045700016a3fc7&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

New Mexico prosecutors intend to recharge actor Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the fatal 2021 “Rust” shooting, two sources familiar with the matter tells NBC News.

The source adds that Baldwin’s case will be brought before a grand jury in mid-November. There had been recent discussions of a plea deal, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

NBC News has reached out to the special prosecutors assigned to the case as well as Baldwin’s attorneys for comment.

This charge could carry up to 18 months in prison if convicted.

This latest news comes 5 months after special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis dismissed this same charge against Baldwin citing “new facts” in the case. At the time they released a statement reserving the right to re-charge Baldwin stating, “This decision does not absolve Mr. Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled.”

The case centers on an incident on the “Rust” film set in October 2021, in which Baldwin’s prop gun fired a live round of ammunition, killing the film’s cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

Baldwin has maintained in interviews with both ABC News and CNN that he did not pull the trigger.

“I feel that someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me,” Baldwin said in an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in December 2021.

When the involuntary manslaughter charges were dropped earlier this year, prosecutors said the gun might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. A gun analysis report commissioned by the special prosecutors released in August found that the gun had not been modified.

[Mik]

I'm pretty sure he pulled the trigger. But I still don't see how he can reasonably be held accountable for the very clear failure of others on the set who were charged with preparing the props.

[George K]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/rust-armorer-fair-shot-trial-1235823841/

[George K]

I'm watching Guiterrez-Reed's trial.

It's at the end of the first week, and the state still hasn't rested. The testimony against her, and, for that matter, so many people on the set is damning. It's amazing to hear how unprofessional her behavior was.

An experienced armorer talks about firearm safety on set and finds a TON of potentially dangerous situations:

[George K]

Saw a lawyer talking about the charges and discussing the defense's motion to drop charges.

He says the state's responsibilities are to prove, beyond the reasonable doubt, the following things:

1. Alec Baldwin pointed the muzzle of what he knew to be a real gun at Hutchins.
2. Alec Baldwin pressed the trigger in a manner to fire the gun with the hammer cocked.
3. Baldwin failed to check that there was no live ammunition in the gun.
4. The unintended discharge of the firearm killed Hutchins.

That's it.

According to New Mexico law "I didn't know it was loaded" is not a defense, and it's been adjudicated in the past in New Mexico's Supreme Court. Court said it made no difference as to who loaded the gun.

[Horace]

If you get unlucky and accidentally kill someone in an extraordinary circumstance, and there exists prosecutor motivation to convict you of a substantial crime, then they can probably file some charges and craft some jury instructions around those charges such that you're going to prison.

[Jolly]

Law based on emotion or a driving need to find somebody "guilty" is bad law.