Prosecutors are withdrawing their appeal of the dismissed case against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting during the filming of the movie

The Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office announced Monday that New Mexico prosecutors will not pursue an appeal of a court’s decision to dismiss a manslaughter charge against actor Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer during the filming of a Western.

Special prosecutor Carrie Morrissey withdrew an appeal of a July decision during trial to dismiss the charge against Baldwin in the death of cinematographer Halina Hutchins during a rehearsal for the film. Rust Outside Santa Fe in October 2021.

Defense attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said: “Today’s decision to dismiss the appeal is the final confirmation of what Alec Baldwin and his lawyers have said from the beginning – this was an unspeakable tragedy but Alec Baldwin committed no crime.” “The rule of law remains intact in New Mexico.”

Representatives of the state’s attorney general could not immediately be reached for comment.

The decision to drop the appeal reinforces a ruling by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer midway through Baldwin’s trial that dismissed the case based on allegations that police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense.

Baldwin’s trial was turned upside down after it was revealed that ammunition was brought into the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office in March by a man who said it might be linked to Hutchins’ killing.

Prosecutors said they considered the ammunition irrelevant and unimportant, while Baldwin’s lawyers said investigators “buried” the evidence in a separate case file and filed a successful motion to dismiss.

Under state law, New Mexico’s attorney general would have pursued the appeal but “did not intend to comprehensively pursue the appeal on behalf of the prosecution,” the attorney general’s office said.

“As a result, the state’s efforts to continue to prosecute the case in a fair and comprehensive manner were met with multiple obstacles that harmed its ability to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,” local prosecutors said.

Baldwin faces several lawsuits

Baldwin, lead actor and co-producer of Rustwas pointing a gun at Hutchins during on-set training when the gun went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin said he pulled the hammer — but not the trigger — and the gun fired.

In April, a judge sentenced motion picture weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez Reed to a maximum of 1 1/2 years in state prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in Hutchins’ death.

Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez Reed for unintentionally bringing live ammunition onto the set Rustas it was expressly prohibited, and basic gun safety protocols were not followed.

Assistant Principal and Safety Coordinator David Holz pleaded no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon and was sentenced to six months without probation. A plea of ​​no contest is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.

Several civil lawsuits have been filed against Baldwin and Rust producers, including a complaint from Hutchins’ parents and sister.

Prosecutors said Hutchins’ death prompted industry-wide scrutiny of safety protocols, especially the use of firearms and live ammunition on set.