'An abuse of the system': Alec Baldwin pushes for involuntary manslaughter charge to be dropped
Alec Baldwin has made a bid to have involuntary manslaughter case dropped, arguing prosecutors have "violated nearly every rule int he book".
Alec Baldwin has argued his involuntary manslaughter case is an "abuse of the system".
The 65-year-old actor was indicted in January in relation to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was fatally shot on the set of his movie 'Rust' in October 2021, but now his legal team have made a bid to have the case dismissed.
In legal documents obtained by People magazine, Alec's lawyers accused prosecutors in New Mexico of “violating nearly every rule in the book” as they sought to pursue a case against him, and claimed they had leaked information to the press, stating they didn't know the criminal case against the former '30 Rock' star began in January 2023 until the Wall Street Journal contacted them.
They further accused special prosecutor Kari Morrissey of going to the press the same day she told Alec of her plans to bring the case to a grand jury in October, six months after original charges had been dropped.
The lawyers wrote this was "yet another disclosure that violated basic rules governing grand jury secrecy."
That's not all because Alec's team argued the state violated “Ex Post Facto clauses of the US and New Mexico Constitutions” when they charged their client with a “firearm enhancement that had not been enacted when the accident occurred", though that charge was dropped in February last year.
Prosecutors were accused of not presenting certain evidence to the grand jury or make witnesses - including director Joel Souza, who was injured during the incident - who could have testified checking the gun before filming wasn't Alec's responsibility available to them.
The lawyers wrote: "Every favourable fact was hidden, and all of the grand jury’s inquiries about exculpatory information were redirected to witnesses who misrepresented the facts or had no foundation for giving the answers."
Slamming the alleged behaviour of prosecutors, they added: “Enough is enough. This is an abuse of the system, and an abuse of an innocent person whose rights have been trampled to the extreme. The Court should dismiss the indictment.”
Later in the documents, they accused prosecutors of having "one goal", to “indict Baldwin, no matter the truth, no matter the rules or Court rulings, and no matter what it took to do so.”
Alec pleaded not guilty on 31 January and is due to face trial in July.
Armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is awaiting sentence after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this month.
