Since shortly after the fatal shooting on the set of “ Rust ,” Alec Baldwin has been adamant that he did not pull the trigger. That claim has been a key element of Baldwin’s public defense and a way for him to disclaim all responsibility for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Prosecutors find the claim “absurd on its face” and have gone to great lengths to disprove it.
But in his opening statement on Wednesday, defense attorney Alex Spiro acknowledged, for the first time, that Baldwin may be wrong, and that he may have pulled the trigger. He argued that would still not make him criminally negligent. “On a movie set, you’re allowed to pull the trigger,” Spiro said.
“Even if he intentionally pulled the trigger...
that doesn’t make him guilty of homicide.” The prosecution intends to spend much of the manslaughter trial proving that Baldwin did pull the trigger. In her opening statement, special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson said that numerous firearms experts will testify that the gun was working properly at the time of the shooting.
The prosecution will go so far as to bring in manufacturer Alessandro Pietta from Italy to tell jurors about his quality control measures. “The evidence will show..
. this gun functioned and worked just fine,” Johnson said. The prosecution is also expected to call at least one member of the crew to testify that he saw Baldwin pull the trigger.
The defense has not conceded the point entirely. Baldwin’s lawyers still.
