Alec Baldwin charged with involuntary manslaughter

[pacovl46]

On 2/2/2023 at 3:08 AM, cleopatra2 said:

If A Baldwin is correct to accept the statement from Halls that the gun was cold.Then Hall is responsible for checking the gun What the armorer did/didn't  do is somewhat moot. It was Hall that declared the gun safe , 

If the armorer is guilty then A Baldwin was negligent in not getting the armorer assurance the gun was cold. Baldwin's negligence ( assuming he would have acted differently knowing the gun was hot), caused the death and injury of persons.

Baldwin was told the gun was COLD when it was handed to him. It's not the actors job to check the guns, thats why they hire gun/prop masters. 

[cleopatra2]

44 minutes ago, pacovl46 said:

Baldwin was told the gun was COLD when it was handed to him. It's not the actors job to check the guns, thats why they hire gun/prop masters. 

I agree.

The question arises was it correct to accept the assurance from Halls.

Hypothetically if another actor handed Baldwin the gun and declared it cold would Baldwin have the gun rechecked or just  accepted the statement as correct. Given that the armorer had already informed Baldwin that she was the only person responsible for the gun.

 

 

[Bluespunk]

Taking the firearm safety training seriously might have been an idea…

 

https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkgnwm/alex-baldwin-on-phone-gun-training-rust-shooting

[mikebike]

It is freaking ALL of their faults. It's a deadly weapon. Those of you trying to exonerate AB because he is an "actor" or because someone else handed it to him an said it was cold are crazy. If you are using a real gun prop, the person whose hand it is in, pointing it at another, is ultimately where the buck stops. Own up to it AB, you're only gonna get a slap on the wrist. 

[pacovl46]

On 2/4/2023 at 11:09 AM, cleopatra2 said:

I agree.

The question arises was it correct to accept the assurance from Halls.

Hypothetically if another actor handed Baldwin the gun and declared it cold would Baldwin have the gun rechecked or just  accepted the statement as correct. Given that the armorer had already informed Baldwin that she was the only person responsible for the gun.

 

 

If I was an actor I would definitely check any gun beforehand myself, but again, it's not your job as an actor for the same reason why an actor doesn't check the lighting, camera angles, extras etc. They specifically hire people for these jobs. 

Edited February 5, 2023 by pacovl46

[save the frogs]

60 minutes australia.

armorer was young (24) and inexperienced.

there were a lot of guns on the set, difficult to manage.

there were safety issues on the set before the killing.

 

 

[placeholder]

Alec Baldwin faces reduced prison sentence after charge dropped in fatal ‘Rust’ shooting

Alec Baldwin won a key legal battle Monday that saw one of his charges over the deadly shooting of Halyna Hutchins dropped — drastically reducing the potential prison time he is facing.

The Santa Fe County district attorney filed paperwork Monday that dropped a firearm enhancement charge against both the “30 Rock” star and the rookie film-set armorer charged alongside him.

Without it, that means he faces a maximum of 18 months in prison for manslaughter — down from the five years he’d faced before.

https://nypost.com/2023/02/20/alec-baldwin-sees-one-charge-dropped-in-fatal-rust-shooting/

 

I purposely used a link to the NY Post article to show how untrustworthy it is. Every other media source I checked explained what the difference was between the original charge and the new one. Basically, the originally charge said that you had to "discharge" the weapon to qualify for involuntary manslaughter. But that version of the law was passed after the incident. The Constituiton explicitlly rules out ex post facto laws. Which means that prosecutor can't apply the terms of a law if it was legislated after a particular incident. So Baldwin will be tried under the old statute. Which specifies that to be convicted of "involuntary manslaughter" the defendant has to be guilty of "brandishing" the weapon. I don't know if there is a legal definition of "brandish" but here a few definitions I found. If these definitions apply, then the case against Baldwin just get very weak. They're going to have to show that Baldwin used that weapon in a menacing way before he fired the fatal shot. Is anyone going to believe that this wasn't a joke gone terribly wrong.

 

wave or flourish (something, especially a weapon) as a threat or in anger or excitement.

"a man leaped out brandishing a knife"

 

to shake or wave (something, such as a weapon) menacingly. brandished a knife at them. : to exhibit in an ostentatious or aggressive manner. brandishing her intellect.

 

to wave something in the air in a threatening or excited way: He looked silly brandishing one of those Star Wars lightsabers.

https://www.google.com/search?q=brandish&oq=brandish&aqs=chrome.0.69i59.1445j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

If these definitions apply, then the case against Baldwin just get very weak. They're going to have to show that Baldwin used that weapon in a menacing way before he fired the fatal shot. Is anyone going to believe that this wasn't a joke gone terribly wrong.

 

And the prosecutors look really bad. They made an elementary mistake. And this was the best spin they could put on it:

"Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the Santa Fe district attorney, told The Independent in a statement that prosecutors had dropped the firearm enhancement to “avoid further litigious distractions by Mr Baldwin and his attorneys.”

“The prosecution’s priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys,” Ms Brewer said."

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/alec-baldwin-charges-dropped-rust-shooting-b2286002.html

 

It's telling, by the way, that the NY Post described this response as "scorching" rather than what it really is, namely "lame". Whoever decided in favor of the original charges against Baldwin should be fired.

 

Expect lots of tooth gnashing at Fox News and other right wing media.

Edited February 20, 2023 by placeholder

[placeholder]

1 hour ago, placeholder said:

Alec Baldwin faces reduced prison sentence after charge dropped in fatal ‘Rust’ shooting

Alec Baldwin won a key legal battle Monday that saw one of his charges over the deadly shooting of Halyna Hutchins dropped — drastically reducing the potential prison time he is facing.

The Santa Fe County district attorney filed paperwork Monday that dropped a firearm enhancement charge against both the “30 Rock” star and the rookie film-set armorer charged alongside him.

Without it, that means he faces a maximum of 18 months in prison for manslaughter — down from the five years he’d faced before.

https://nypost.com/2023/02/20/alec-baldwin-sees-one-charge-dropped-in-fatal-rust-shooting/

 

I purposely used a link to the NY Post article to show how untrustworthy it is. Every other media source I checked explained what the difference was between the original charge and the new one. Basically, the originally charge said that you had to "discharge" the weapon to qualify for involuntary manslaughter. But that version of the law was passed after the incident. The Constituiton explicitlly rules out ex post facto laws. Which means that prosecutor can't apply the terms of a law if it was legislated after a particular incident. So Baldwin will be tried under the old statute. Which specifies that to be convicted of "involuntary manslaughter" the defendant has to be guilty of "brandishing" the weapon. I don't know if there is a legal definition of "brandish" but here a few definitions I found. If these definitions apply, then the case against Baldwin just get very weak. They're going to have to show that Baldwin used that weapon in a menacing way before he fired the fatal shot. Is anyone going to believe that this wasn't a joke gone terribly wrong.

 

wave or flourish (something, especially a weapon) as a threat or in anger or excitement.

"a man leaped out brandishing a knife"

 

to shake or wave (something, such as a weapon) menacingly. brandished a knife at them. : to exhibit in an ostentatious or aggressive manner. brandishing her intellect.

 

to wave something in the air in a threatening or excited way: He looked silly brandishing one of those Star Wars lightsabers.

https://www.google.com/search?q=brandish&oq=brandish&aqs=chrome.0.69i59.1445j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

If these definitions apply, then the case against Baldwin just get very weak. They're going to have to show that Baldwin used that weapon in a menacing way before he fired the fatal shot. Is anyone going to believe that this wasn't a joke gone terribly wrong.

 

And the prosecutors look really bad. They made an elementary mistake. And this was the best spin they could put on it:

"Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the Santa Fe district attorney, told The Independent in a statement that prosecutors had dropped the firearm enhancement to “avoid further litigious distractions by Mr Baldwin and his attorneys.”

“The prosecution’s priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys,” Ms Brewer said."

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/alec-baldwin-charges-dropped-rust-shooting-b2286002.html

 

It's telling, by the way, that the NY Post described this response as "scorching" rather than what it really is, namely "lame". Whoever decided in favor of the original charges against Baldwin should be fired.

 

Expect lots of tooth gnashing at Fox News and other right wing media.

Here's a fact I wasn't aware of:

The special prosecutor in this case, Andrea Reeb, is also a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives. Guess what party she belongs to? 

https://andreareeb.com/

Right wing much?

Maybe that explains the sloppy and dubious prosecution? Obviously for a legislator to also be a prosecutor is highly improper.

 

Alec Baldwin's attorney seeks to disqualify special prosecutor who investigated 'Rust' shooting

Alec Baldwin's attorney moved on Tuesday to disqualify the special prosecutor in New Mexico who investigated him over the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of "Rust."

The special prosecutor, Andrea Reeb, is a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives... 

"Under Section 1 of Article III of the New Mexico Constitution, however, a sitting member of the Legislature may not 'exercise any powers properly belonging' to either the executive or judicial branch," Baldwin's defense attorney, Luke Nikas, wrote in a motion filed on Tuesday.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/alec-baldwins-attorney-seeks-disqualify-special-prosecutor-investigated/story?id=96957203

[onthedarkside]

UPDATE: ‘Rust’ Armorer Transferred Narcotics on Day of Shooting, Prosecutor Says

 

The original armorer on the film “Rust,” who was charged with involuntary manslaughter after a gun that was loaded with live ammunition fired on the set and killed the cinematographer, will face an additional charge of evidence tampering related to narcotics, a special prosecutor in the case said Thursday.

The new charge against the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, “relates to the transfer of narcotics to another person” on Oct. 21, 2021, the day of the shooting, “with the intent to prevent criminal prosecution,” the prosecutor, Kari T. Morrissey, said in a statement.

 

A lawyer for Ms. Gutierrez-Reed said that she intended to plead not guilty to both the evidence tampering and the involuntary manslaughter charges.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/arts/rust-armorer-new-charge.html

 

 

No Paywall Link

 

[Dcheech]

“The conduct of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office during and after their initial investigation is reprehensible and unprofessional to a degree I still have no words for,” the investigator, Robert Shilling, wrote in the email he sent Tuesday. “Not I or 200 more proficient investigators than I can/could clean up the mess delivered to your office in October 2022 (1 year since the initial incident … inexcusable).”

 

It was all fun and games, hamming it up for the non mainstream media, red hatters howled and chanted, but now they actually have to do something; Shock, Gasp, Horror! 

Charges against Alec Baldwin were dropped two months ago. Santa Fe County police & prosecutors are giving Uvalde Texas a run for the money in incompetence & clusterpuckery. This train wreck is happening.  

 

Edited June 23, 2023 by Dcheech

[stevenl]

11 minutes ago, Dcheech said:

“The conduct of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office during and after their initial investigation is reprehensible and unprofessional to a degree I still have no words for,” the investigator, Robert Shilling, wrote in the email he sent Tuesday. “Not I or 200 more proficient investigators than I can/could clean up the mess delivered to your office in October 2022 (1 year since the initial incident … inexcusable).”

 

It was all fun and games, hamming it up for the non mainstream media, red hatters howled and chanted, but now they actually have to do something; Shock, Gasp, Horror! 

Charges against Alec Baldwin were dropped two months ago. Santa Fe County police & prosecutors are giving Uvalde Texas a run for the money in incompetence & clusterpuckery. This train wreck is happening.  

 

Link please.

[Dcheech]

4 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Link please.

The link is already on the board.

->

UPDATE: ‘Rust’ Armorer Transferred Narcotics on Day of Shooting, Prosecutor Says

Edited June 23, 2023 by Dcheech