Alec Baldwin pleads not guilty to manslaughter charge in 'Rust' shooting

Baldwin was originally charged for the shooting in January 2023. Those charges were dropped a few months later

February 01, 2024 07:44 am | Updated 07:44 am IST

File pictuer of Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin

File pictuer of Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin | Photo Credit: AP

Actor Alec Baldwin on Wednesday plead not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter over the 2021 on-set shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming of the Western Rust in New Mexico.

Baldwin made the plea as he waived his right to an arraignment after he was indicted by a grand jury on January 19, court documents showed.

The 30 Rock actor was allowed to remain free without posting bond under the arraignment waiver with the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe.

Baldwin was originally charged for the shooting in January 2023. Those charges were dropped a few months later based on evidence the hammer of the revolver might have been modified, allowing it to fire without the trigger being pulled.

The new charges came after an independent forensic test concluding that Baldwin would have had to have pulled the trigger of the revolver he was using in a rehearsal for it to fire the live round that struck Hutchins in the chest and killed her.

The finding was the same as a previous FBI test on the firearm.

Baldwin, the Emmy-winning performer, has denied pulling the trigger and said he was not responsible for the death of Hutchins.

The movie's director, Joel Souza, was struck and wounded in the shoulder by the same bullet that killed Hutchins during production of the film on a set outside Santa Fe.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.