Alec Baldwin breaks silence as actor vows to fight ‘horrific miscarriage of justice’

Alec Baldwin plans to fight the charges against him, his lawyer insisting: “We will win”. Baldwin will be charged with two counts of manslaughter following the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust.

Baldwin’s attorneys responded to the decision to indict with a statement, saying, “This decision misrepresents the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice.”

The actor’s attorney, Luke Nikas, told the New York Post that Baldwin was “blindsided” by the charges, which he heard about through the media.

He said: “Mr Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun – or anywhere on set.

“He relied on the professionals he worked with, who assured him that the gun had no live ammunition.”

“We will fight these accusations, and we will win,” he added.

Baldwin, 64, accidentally killed Ms Hutchin after firing a prop gun, loaded with a real bullet, in her direction while filming the project in New Mexico in October 2021.

The bullet hit director Joel Souza in the shoulder before fatally striking the cinematographer, the mother of one, in the chest.

Two other people also face accidental shooting charges, including assistant director David Halls and the film’s gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez Reed, New Mexico prosecutors announced Thursday.

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Halls, who gave Baldwin the loaded gun, agreed to plead guilty to careless use of a deadly weapon, while Reed, like Baldwin, was also charged with manslaughter.

Prosecutors told several media outlets that it was part of industry standards for actors to verify that firearms were safe to handle and to follow basic gun rules, such as not pointing. weapons towards people.

Baldwin pushed back against this idea, saying that gun safety was the responsibility of the gunsmith and the first director and that he was instructed to point the gun at the cinematographer.

Gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who is responsible for weapons on film sets, faces the same charges as Baldwin and also denies responsibility.

Her lawyer Jason Bowles said: “Hannah is, and always has been, very emotional and sad about this tragic accident. But she did not commit manslaughter.”

Bowles called the charges “the result of a grossly flawed investigation and an inaccurate understanding of all the facts.”

They will both appear in court where the jury will decide if they are guilty and, if so, which of the two counts they are guilty of.

One of the felony charges carries a maximum prison sentence of 18 months, while the other carries a weapons upgrade requiring a five-year sentence.