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I hope they charge him again. On whatever grounds are appropriate. At this point, I'll settle for a wrist-slap and a public acknowledgment that he was at fault. He pulled the trigger, zero doubt, plus he was an on-site managing producer. Some form of prosecutorial justice would be good to see.

And lest we forget, this was not an actual period-piece firearm. This was a modern-manufacture replica that included 140 years of improvements in materials and assembly. It wasn't a rusted-out antique that someone had sitting in their attic.

Grayling813 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 21, 2023 9:16 am

“We cannot proceed under the current time constraints and on the facts and evidence turned over by law enforcement in its existing form,” they said. “We therefore will be dismissing the involuntary manslaughter charges against Mr. Baldwin to conduct further investigation. This decision does not absolve Mr. Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled.”

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-a ... ec-baldwin

I can understand it, too. It isn't an absolution, and the charge of involuntary manslaughter may have been a hill just a bit too steep to climb. But I sincerely hope the DA does pick it back up and go for a lesser charge. The way I understand previous explanations, under New Mexico law involuntary manslaughter involves causing death through negligence, but it can't be simple negligence; it has to be criminal negligence which New Mexico defines as "willful disregard of the rights or safety of others." It also requires that the accused must possess subjective knowledge "of the danger or risk to others posed by his or her actions."

While I can't say I realistically expect new charges to happen, it will irk me forever if this reckless, ignorant snowflake isn't convicted of something.

DA drops gun enhancement charge against Alec Baldwin in 'Rust' shooting
https://abcnews.go.com/US/da-drops-gun- ... d=97337067

The Santa Fe District Attorney's Office announced Monday it is dropping the gun enhancement charge -- a crime that would have carried a five-year sentence if convicted -- against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of "Rust" in October 2021.

Baldwin still faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting, however, that crime would carry a lesser sentence of 18 months if convicted. The amended complaint was filed late Friday.

The charge was also dropped against armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who faces the same involuntary manslaughter charge as Baldwin.

"In order to avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys, the District Attorney and the special prosecutor have removed the firearm enhancement to the involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the 'Rust' film set," Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said in a statement. "The prosecution's priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys."

Paladin wrote: ↑Fri Feb 03, 2023 2:36 pm We guessed it, now it's confirmed:

Prosecutors Say Alec Baldwin Skipped Gun Safety Training

Statements and evidence show [ALEC] BALDWIN was not present for required firearms training prior to the commencement of filming. Statements, depositions from OSHA, and evidence show BALDWIN was provided only minimal training on firearms, even after [armorer and co-defendant Hannah Gutierrez-] REED requested more training for BALDWIN. In the deposition taken from REED, she stated BALDWIN had very limited training on the cross draw that was required for the scene on the 21st and limited training in firearms and how to check his firearm as to whether it was unloaded or loaded, in which REED felt was very important in his role as RUST.

He was to arrogant to get required training.

And from other info I gather that, during what little on-set training he acquiesced to be present for, he spent more time paying attention to his cell phone than he did to whatever instruction was taking place.

It would do my little heart good if this narcissist spends at least a token amount of time behind bars. I'm thinking a deal for fine and probation more likely, but just to know he got to live in a cell for at least 30 days would be nice.

Prediction: The young armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, will be offered and will accept a plea deal. The DA will go after Baldwin not just as a negligent trigger-puller, but also over his responsibilities as producer of the film; e.g., that his negligence extends to hiring unqualified people, doing extreme corner-cutting, and ignoring safety and other issues that led some crew members to walk off the set. The DA will do this to put Baldwin into two boxes that he has to get out of, not just one (and maybe because the "reckless disregard" card will be easier to play as compounded by his role as producer). Then the assistant director, Hall, who's already taken a plea and the armorer will be called as witnesses for the prosecution in Baldwin's trial. This, of course, assuming Baldwin himself doesn't cop a plea and wants to continue professing his complete and halo-wearing innocence, like he did in the Stephanopoulos interview.

All in all, I think the DA probably knew well what she was doing, and knew she couldn't move forward with such a high-profile case until she had the cards she needed in her poker hand. Baldwin may get off with a deal and not serve actual jail time, but one way or the other he will come away from this adjudged as guilty of something. And damage to a career couldn't happen to a bigger...er, uh, anatomical feature.

Alec Baldwin's cellphone retrieval becomes target of New York, New Mexico authorities
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/a ... o-new-york
Posted January 7, 2020

The retrieval of Alec Baldwin's cellphone has now become the focus of a joint effort by the sheriff's departments in New Mexico and New York. The Suffolk County Sheriff's Department in New York confirmed to Fox News Digital on Friday that a request from the Santa Fe Sheriff's Department had been received.

"The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office has received a request from the Santa Fe, NM authorities requesting assistance in obtaining Alec Baldwin’s phone," Sergeant Paul Spinella told Fox News Digital. "This request has been forwarded to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office to work out the differences in laws between NM and NY. As this is an ongoing investigation, that is all the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office can report at this time."

So, Alec, buddy. Exactly what are you hiding?

ABC World News (hey; I gotta listen in order to get the other...er...viewpoints) just reported that the New Mexico Sheriff has been issued a search warrant for Alec Baldwin's cell phone.

philip964 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 14, 2021 2:47 pm Truck driver giving Alec words of encouragement on his shooting of the poor woman.

Truck driver had to make a delivery and would be on the ground for several minutes. He was actually making sure Baldwin wasn't armed...

A COVID19 public service message from Anthony Faucci and the Screen Actors Guild:

philip964 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 06, 2021 12:25 pm https://www.emilypostnews.com/p/10-most ... win-claims

Top Ten Baldwin excuses for shooting and killing a woman.

From the lady of Emily gets her gun fame in DC.

Emily stated my thoughts about that "interview" better than I could. She has a couple of typos to fix, but otherwise this an excellent piece. Round of applause. I'll also say that I don't know anything about George Clooney and his position on the 2A, but he's gone up a notch to me. About the only thing Stephanopoulos did that seemed actually intended to put Baldwin on the spot even a little (Stephanopoulos was also the producer of the one-hour segment...did you hear the cheesy background music they used?), was to play the brief video interview with Clooney.

George Clooney wrote: Every single time I'm handed a gun on the set — every time — they hand me a gun, I look at it, I open it, I show it to the person I'm pointing it to, I show it to the crew. Every single take, you hand it back to the armorer when you're done. You do it again. And part of it is because of what happened to Brandon [Lee]. Everyone does it.

RoyGBiv wrote: ↑Fri Dec 03, 2021 10:44 am Hard to believe this came from CNN. Worth watching.

https://twitter.com/@twitter/status/1466752479580893184

Wow. You got that right! CNN posted that!? The mind boggles...

Keith B wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 7:02 pm There is also another item that makes this statement by Baldwin highly suspect. This from a review of the Pietta 1873 single action revolver prior to this incident:

‘Mechanically, the 1873 Single Action Revolver is similar to the original, with at least one important exception. Pietta engineered a transfer bar safety into this platform. In short, the transfer bar safety is designed to allow the hammer to transfer energy to the frame-mounted firing pin only if the trigger is pulled once the hammer is in the fully cocked position. This system prevents accidental discharge due to a drop-fire or a blow to the hammer even if a cartridge is in the cylinder and in front of the firing pin. With the transfer bar safety, you can safely carry a full cylinder.’

So, unless the new model revolver had been modified or was malfunctioning (unlikely IMO), he is either blocking it out of his memory, or just outright lying about not pulling the trigger.

Testing being conducted by the FBI should determine whether the firearm was properly functioning or not.

Great info; I hadn't seen that.

I've been watching the ABC interview since it started, but I don't if I can stomach it through to the end. I like and respect Baldwin even less now--if that was possible--than I did before the start of the interview. This is purely self-serving triage PR that ABC is facilitating. Disgusting.

A big question to me is, with an ongoing criminal investigation underway and at least one civil suit already filed, how in the heck is this guy even being allowed by his attorney to do this? "Not my fault. Not my fault. I feel bad for what happened. But the real question, the crux of the culpability, is who brought the live round onto the set? That's who's at fault. Not me. I'm a saint. I have six kids. Nothing is my fault."

I'd like to use a few choice words, but they aren't allowed on the forum.

srothstein wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 10:28 pm Why do I have no trouble at all believing that Alec Baldwin really thinks the gun went off without his pulling the trigger? No one who knows anything about guns, even if it was just their toy guns from when they were kids, would believe that but I can believe Alec Baldwin does.

"The trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger," Baldwin told George Stephanopoulos.

And it was not an old, period-piece firearm with potentially worn parts. It was a new Pietta look-a-like Long Colt. And it was a single-action revolver. If the hammer cocked itself and then the trigger pulled itself, analog mechanical devices have come alive and are about to take over the world.

But I can believe that Baldwin either doesn't believe he pulled the trigger or blanked in from his memory (in other words, lying but has convinced himself he isn't). He was evidently rehearsing a cross-draw at the time, and once fully cocked the Pietta may have a trigger-pull as light as 2 or 3 pounds. If he cocked the hammer as part of the draw stroke, he may have "placed" his finger inside the trigger guard for "practice" and "touched" the trigger...which to his anti-gun, untrained, uninformed brain isn't the same thing as pulling the trigger. Kinda like cracking a tail light in a parking lot and saying, "But I hardly even tapped the light post!"

"Guns don't just go off," Sheriff Adan Mendoza told Fox News Digital. "So whatever needs to happen to manipulate the firearm, he did that and it was in his hands."

P.S. ABC News giving Alec Baldwin a prime-time network slot to be interviewed about the shooting by George Stephanopoulos. That right there is a nauseating combination from all possible angles...

srothstein wrote: ↑Sun Nov 07, 2021 9:50 pm

philip964 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 07, 2021 8:39 pmNews is very easy on Liberals.

Along those lines, has anyone noticed that all the news articles, even Fox news, refrain from saying that Baldwin shot her unless they are quoting someone like Trump. They all seem to like the phrase that Badlwin was holding a prop gun that somehow went off, as if there was a doubt about it. No, Baldwin was holding a real firearm that went off when he squeezed the trigger (well maybe he pulled or jerked it - I doubt he knows to squeeze it).

I could accept saying something like Baldwin inadvertently shot her, but saying the gun somehow went off is really irritating me.

I'm absolutely with you. To the point that I feel the urge to throw the remote at the TV every time I hear it. Or see an image of Alec Baldwin, for that matter.

And today:

Alec Baldwin calls for mandatory police presence to monitor weapon safety on sets following 'Rust' shooting
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/a ... t-shooting

On Monday, Baldwin issued a rare social media post since the tragedy to note that he believes having a police presence paid for by networks or studios would lead to fewer gun-related mishaps. "Every film/TV set that uses guns, fake or otherwise, should have a police officer on set, hired by the production, to specifically monitor weapons safety," he wrote Monday.

And exactly what actions should the assigned on-set LEO take when ignorant, reckless, and negligent actors handle a firearm unsafely? Report the action to the producer? Oh...wait... Baldwin was a producer, so that won't work. Er... Threaten to withhold the actor's morning Starbuck's double espresso mocha cappuccino and replace it with regular coffee?