In yet another plot twist that feels more like the screenplay of a grim off-Broadway drama than an actual legal proceeding, special prosecutors in New Mexico have decided that Alec Baldwin will not be charged in the 2021 fatal shooting on the set of the film “Rust.” That’s right, the gun has been fired, the dust has settled, and Baldwin walks away from the latest legal installment uncharged, which marks roughly the third act in a case that has tripped over more plot holes than the movie itself.
The decision came after the prosecutors spent a considerable amount of time probing the incident and presumably exhausting their thesauruses in the process. In a rather brief but deadly serious court filing, they announced the manner of the shooting “does not support criminal charges against Mr. Baldwin” and cited insufficient evidence that Mr. Baldwin acted “without due caution.” Which, in the understated language of law, is basically the courtroom equivalent of shrugging while slowly pushing the case into a filing cabinet labeled “Let’s Not Do This Again.”
To refresh memory files, Baldwin was holding a prop gun during a rehearsal in October 2021 when it discharged, fatally wounding cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. The bullet was live, the situation far too real, and the aftermath has ping-ponged through more legal corners than one might reasonably expect for what was meant to be a Western set in 1880s Kansas that somehow became a 2020s courtroom Western instead.
This moment of prosecutorial finality comes after what can best be described as an extended legal mixtape. Baldwin was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter, those charges were then dropped, then briefly revived earlier this year, now dropped again. Legal fans keeping score should consider switching to either a dry erase board or interpretive dance at this point.
Baldwin’s attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, responded to the announcement with the verbal equivalent of a relieved sigh, saying, “We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Mr. Baldwin.” They made no further comment, possibly because even they are running out of synonyms for “relieved.”
Meanwhile, the film’s armourer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, has been less fortunate in the courtroom drama. She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year in a separate trial that underscored the importance of prop gun safety and the dangers of assigning people to handle weapons based on a system that may rely a bit too heavily on “everything will probably be fine.”
As for Baldwin, he is now free to continue acting, producing and not being charged in connection with unfortunate cinematic events. Having recently wrapped filming on the actual “Rust” movie (yes, it continued), one presumes he will cherish that shoot for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with awards season.
Sometimes the best way to beat the system is to simply run out the clock while it argues with itself.