OAN’s Brooke Mallory
2:14 PM – Tuesday, August 15, 2023
Involuntary manslaughter charges against actor Alec Baldwin in the shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins were dropped earlier this year. It was said to have been done in part since the special prosecutors on the case stated that they wanted more time to investigate the gun that had been used.
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Prosecutors also noted at the time that the charges could be refiled later.
The sticking point, according to Variety magazine, was that the gun had been modified for its use in the film, which Baldwin’s defense claimed could have caused it to go off without anyone pulling the trigger.
The argument could not be proven or disproven at the time since the gun had been disassembled by the FBI as part of its investigation into the incident. However, reports suggest that the gun has been rebuilt and subjected to a new forensic examination, which determined that it could only have been fired by someone pulling the trigger.
The study explained the situation as follows: “The fatal incident was the consequence of the hammer being manually retracted to its fully rearward and cocked position followed, at some point, by the pull or rearward depression of the trigger.”
While Baldwin has consistently denied pulling the trigger, the new study claims that “the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer.”
According to Variety, prosecutors previously stated that they would refile charges against Baldwin if it was discovered that the gun was in its normal working condition.
Meanwhile, the case against Rust armorer Hanna Gutierrez-Reed, who has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering, is still proceeding and will go to trial in December of this year.
Hutchins’ 10-year-old son Andros and her husband Matthew were both devastated by the unexpected death.
“I am not going to be able to comment about the facts or the process of what we’re going through right now, but I appreciate that everyone has been very sympathetic,” the victim’s husband said.
Matthew Hutchins became an associate at the law firm Latham & Watkins in March 2021. Latham & Watkins has offices in cities like Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and the firm most notably represented the 2016 Clinton political campaign and the Clinton Foundation in numerous litigations.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) also reported on September 10th, 2008, that the high-powered law firm is the Department of Justice’s “home away from home,” implying that a number of attorneys affiliated with the firm, both past and present, have close ties with DOJ officials.
It is unclear whether the surviving Hutchins still works for the firm.
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