Why Were Manslaughter Charges Dropped Against Alec Baldwin?

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Actor Alec Baldwin was recently cleared of the manslaughter charges brought against him for the tragic fatal shooting he was involved in on the set of a movie last year. New developments in the case have indicated that the accident may not have been Baldwin’s fault as had been initially assumed. Read on below to learn why Alec Baldwin’s charges have been dropped.

Why was Alec Baldwin originally charged with manslaughter?

In October of last year, Alec Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter following an investigation into a fatal accident in which he shot and killed a camera operator. The accident occurred during a rehearsal for a scene in the upcoming western film Rust, in which Baldwin pulls out a gun and points it at the camera. He accidentally discharged the firearm, hitting the director in the shoulder and the camera operator in the chest, causing her death.

Baldwin was not solely responsible for the tragedy, as others involved in the filming process were also negligent. The film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, has also been charged with involuntary manslaughter, and the assistant director, David Halls, has pleaded guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon. The prosecutor assigned to the case stated that if any one of these three individuals had done their job properly, the tragic accident could have been prevented.

Why were the charges dropped?

Throughout the course of the entire investigation, Baldwin has continued to claim that he never pulled the trigger on the gun. Recent evidence seems to back up this claim, as it seems that the Colt .45 revolver involved was so defective that it could have misfired without any pressure on the trigger whatsoever. Specifically, the joints in the weapon were seriously worn down.

With this new information, prosecutors dropped all charges against Baldwin as they could not prove that he actually fired the weapon. This ensures that he won’t face the potential punishment of a $5,000 fine and up to 18 months in prison.

How have the Baldwins reacted to the news?

Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria are understandably incredibly relieved by the news, and they made an intimate Instagram post on Hilaria’s account with Alec cradling his wife. The couple has been outspoken about their gratitude to their fans and the people who stood by them during the trial.

Will Rust continue production?

Now that the case surrounding the accident has been closed, the cast and crew of Rust, including Baldwin himself, will return to the production of the film. Filming resumed at Yellowstone Film Ranch in Montana last week, now with increased safety precautions to prevent another accident from happening.

The production has now been completely barred from using real guns or authentic ammunition and will have an increased team of safety supervisors on set making sure everything conforms to proper safety practices. Hopefully, this incident will call attention to the unsafe handling of firearms on film sets and prevent other tragic accidents from happening in the future.