A U.S. prosecutor has asked the court to reverse its mistrial of actor Alec Baldwin for involuntary manslaughter, contesting any procedural flaws in the case that shocked Hollywood, according to a court document released Wednesday, September 4. The trial concerns the accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of the movie Rust had been cancelled in July, the judge having criticised the prosecution for not having given the defence bullets relating to the case.
In a court filing made public Wednesday, New Mexico District Attorney Kari Morrissey challenged the ruling, saying the prosecution withheld some evidence because it was irrelevant to the case, she said. “There was no cover-up because there was nothing to cover up”she said, asking “for the court to reverse its dismissal of the case”.
A very real projectile
On the set, the 66-year-old American star had brandished a gun that was supposed to contain only blanks but which had fired a real projectile. The shot had killed Halyna Hutchins and injured the director Joel Souza. Marked by many weaknesses and twists, the investigation has never established how real bullets, absolutely forbidden on a film set, ended up on the set of Rust.
Alec Baldwin’s lawyers had directly accused the police of having “buried” evidence to explain the tragedy, referring to a batch of bullets given to the sheriff. However, these bullets were never given to the defense, who were unable to have them examined. According to the prosecution, these bullets do not match the one that took the life of Halyna Hutchins. “This is a false lead”prosecutor Kari Morrissey had already assured at the time. “This has no evidentiary value.”
After the announcement of the mistrial, Alec Baldwin immediately burst into tears in the arms of his wife Hilaria.
