The judge’s decision in Alec Baldwin’s case: the charge of intentional murder has been dismissed
15 july 2024 в 20:28
On Friday at 10:15 a.m. (mountain time), 16 jurors were released for the weekend in one of the most high-profile court cases in the state’s history. Although they thought they would return on Monday, the court informed them that their service was completed.
On Friday, July 12, the judge in the Rust case dropped the charge of intentional murder against Alec Baldwin, which immediately brought him to tears.
Before the jurors were brought into the courtroom that day, the third day of the trial, Baldwin’s lawyer Luke Nikas requested the case against his client be dismissed, claiming that prosecutors had withheld evidence that could help determine how live ammunition ended up on the set of a western film in 2021.
«The belated discovery of this evidence during the trial hindered the effective use of the evidence in a way that impacted the fundamental fairness of the process», - said Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, explaining her decision to dismiss the case with prejudice.
Prosecutors argued that they considered the ammunition unrelated and insignificant, while Baldwin’s attorneys claimed they were «buried» and filed a motion to dismiss.
On Thursday, jurors in the Santa Fe court heard the theory about the ammunition — and the so-called good Samaritan who had come forward in recent months claiming to have evidence about that theory — from Baldwin’s defense attorney Alex Spiro.
The judge’s decision put an end to the criminal liability of the actor from «30 Rock» after a nearly three-year saga that began when the 66-year-old Baldwin was rehearsing a scene on the film set, and the gun in his hand went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. Baldwin insisted in interviews that he did not pull the trigger of the gun and did not know why it contained live ammunition.
«Our goal from the beginning was to achieve justice for Halyna Hutchins», - said district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies in a statement. «We are disappointed that the case did not go to the jury».
While the unexpected evidence may not have been relevant to Baldwin’s case, as the charges did not allege that he was responsible for the presence of live ammunition on the set, the lack of access to it by the defense was deemed egregious enough to warrant dismissal.
In the end, Alec and his wife Hilaria Baldwin embraced several times, relieved that his case was not moving forward
On Friday, July 12, the judge in the Rust case dropped the charge of intentional murder against Alec Baldwin, which immediately brought him to tears.
Before the jurors were brought into the courtroom that day, the third day of the trial, Baldwin’s lawyer Luke Nikas requested the case against his client be dismissed, claiming that prosecutors had withheld evidence that could help determine how live ammunition ended up on the set of a western film in 2021.
«The belated discovery of this evidence during the trial hindered the effective use of the evidence in a way that impacted the fundamental fairness of the process», - said Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, explaining her decision to dismiss the case with prejudice.
Prosecutors argued that they considered the ammunition unrelated and insignificant, while Baldwin’s attorneys claimed they were «buried» and filed a motion to dismiss.
On Thursday, jurors in the Santa Fe court heard the theory about the ammunition — and the so-called good Samaritan who had come forward in recent months claiming to have evidence about that theory — from Baldwin’s defense attorney Alex Spiro.
The judge’s decision put an end to the criminal liability of the actor from «30 Rock» after a nearly three-year saga that began when the 66-year-old Baldwin was rehearsing a scene on the film set, and the gun in his hand went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. Baldwin insisted in interviews that he did not pull the trigger of the gun and did not know why it contained live ammunition.
«Our goal from the beginning was to achieve justice for Halyna Hutchins», - said district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies in a statement. «We are disappointed that the case did not go to the jury».
While the unexpected evidence may not have been relevant to Baldwin’s case, as the charges did not allege that he was responsible for the presence of live ammunition on the set, the lack of access to it by the defense was deemed egregious enough to warrant dismissal.
In the end, Alec and his wife Hilaria Baldwin embraced several times, relieved that his case was not moving forward
© Kolganov Andrey
