Prosecutors will need a mountain of evidence cast Alec Baldwin as a reckless criminal shootersaid criminal defense lawyers Friday, as Hollywood appears to be united around the common man.
Baldwin and “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will both be charged with murder in connection with the killing on the film maker Halyna HutchinsNew Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies spoke on Thursday.
Both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed have denied wrongdoing and have sworn to contest the charges.
Baldwin said he did not fire the shot that killed Hutchins on October 21, 2021, on the New Mexico set of the western film.
But prosecutors say they have FBI reports that show Baldwin pulled the trigger.
“There is more than enough evidence to prosecute this case. If I had stayed with the DA and the FBI they would have come back to me and said you have to use force to press the trigger of the weapon (to shoot) me too apparently. The case was prosecuted,” said University of New Mexico law professor Joshua Kastenberg, a former attorney and judge in the US Air Force.
“But I will say this: It is very difficult to prove a case like this.”
Carmack-Altwies and state attorney Andrea Reeb said Thursday they don’t know how a live round ended up in the shooting and the source likely will remain unknown.
“There’s no way the jury won’t put some kind of responsibility on the state: ‘Wait a minute, you want me to put the responsibility on a person (Baldwin) but you you can’t tell me how the live circuit got there. ?’ “Albuquerque-based criminal defense attorney Ahmad Assed said.
“Was there an intentional act that left the life there that we don’t know about? The state has not clarified that issue.”
Prosecutors have asked questions about the origin of the bullet as a “red herring” and filed Hutchins’ death on charges of criminal negligence on the part of the police. charged with failing to check the weapon.
“But if I were to argue for closure, I would say, ‘Members of the jury, the DA doesn’t know how this gun became a deadly gun,'” the investigator said. NBC’s Danny Cevallos.
“‘They don’t know who’s responsible for putting a live circuit on the set. Isn’t that the real bad guy?'”
Baldwin’s attorney, Luke Nikas, said the main character “had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun — or anywhere on the movie set. He believed to the professionals he worked with, who assured him there were no live shooting games. We’re going to fight these charges, and we’re going to win.”
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney also vowed to prove his client is not guilty.
“He did not commit random murder,” Jason Bowles said in a statement. “These charges are the result of a very flawed investigation, and an incorrect understanding of the whole truth. We hope to reveal the whole truth to the light and believe that Hana will be punished from the wrong by the team judge.”
He said Friday that he believes the wrong people are being prosecuted.
He urged prosecutors to stop “blaming the victim” and asked questions “how to find out who put the live game in the gun?”
“No one is questioning who put the live round in the gun,” Fisher said. best known for his role in “Titanic.” “That is the question, everything else is to blame and trivialize”.
Dead Hutchins questions have been raised about the use of guns on the sets of TV shows and movies.
But Los Angeles shooting instructor Scott Reitz, who also works as a shooting consultant in film and television, insists that the proper rules are well known and followed in Hollywood.
“He (Baldwin) relies on the professors telling him, ‘You’re good to go.’ There are records, they just have to be followed,” said Reitz, a University of New Mexico alum and former LAPD SWAT officer.
“A filmmaker relies on professionals who use the weapon and trust that it will be in the position you want.
Baldwin also has the unwavering support of SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents the film industry.
“The attorney general’s argument that the player has a duty to ensure the operation and mechanism of a gun on a production set is false and illogical,” according to a statement. of the union. “
Despite the announcement of the criminal charges this week, the production of “Rust” will continue at some point with Joel Souza in the director’s chair, said Melina Spadone’s lawyer. stands for Rust Movie Productions LLC.
Souza was wounded but not killed in the October 21, 2021, shooting.
“Rust” is “on track to be completed with Mr. Baldwin in the lead and Joel Souza” as the director, the lawyer said.
Spadone added that “live weapons are – and are – prohibited.”
No new time or location has been chosen for the “Rust” shooting. Locations outside of Los Angeles are being considered.