Judge denies Alec Baldwin's request to drop charges for film death

A New Mexico judge denied a lawsuit this Friday (24), which asked to drop the manslaughter charge against actor Alec Baldwin, in the case of the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins from the film “Rust”, in 2021

Baldwin's lawyers accused prosecutors of misconduct during the proceedings and asked that the case be dismissed.

In January, Baldwin pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges. Halyna Hutchins died and director Joel Souza was injured after the gun Baldwin was holding went off during a scene rehearsal on the Western film's New Mexico set.

Manslaughter charges were dropped against Baldwin in 2023, but were resumed in January of this year.

Baldwin's lawyers filed a motion asking for the case to be dismissed in March. They accused prosecutors of engaging in misconduct and tarnishing the actor's image.

Baldwin's attorneys argued that the prosecution presented false and inaccurate testimony to the jury.

In response to the lawsuit, New Mexico special prosecutors said Baldwin's behavior on the “Rust” film set contributed to “safety issues” that led to Hutchins' death.

The judge also said that, despite the defense's allegations, there was no bad faith in the prosecutors' work and appropriate procedures were followed in the process.

In the ruling, the judge said “Upon review of the transcripts presented to the jury on January 18, 2024 and January 19, 2024, the Court does not find that the prosecuting attorneys were engaged in 'intentional misconduct in the course of presenting evidences.”

The film's gunsmith, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who was responsible for firearms safety and storage on the film's set, was found guilty of manslaughter in March. She was sentenced in April to 18 months in prison and is appealing the decision.

In a brief statement to CNN Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro from the actor's legal team said: “We look forward to our day in court.”