Alec's Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial was dismissed on Friday, bringing the lengthy legal saga to an abrupt and shocking end, according to reports from NBC and other outlets. Gasps were reportedly heard and Baldwin sobbed as Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer announced her decision to dismiss the trial, which could have resulted in the actor being sentenced to up to 18 months in prison for the fatal shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021. Instead, Baldwin will walk free.
“The state is highly culpable for its failure to provide discovery to the defendant,” Sommer said. “Dismissal with prejudice is warranted.” Baldwin had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges, arguing that he did not pull the trigger of the prop revolver and that he was not aware the revolver contained a live round.
Prosecutors presented forensic analysis that suggested the weapon could have only been fired if the trigger was pulled. During the trial, Baldwin's lawyers argued that the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office took live rounds of ammunition from the scene as evidence, but that it did not record them in the official case file and hid them from the defense. The assertion led to one of the two special prosecutors, Erlinda Johnson, to resign from the case and Hutchins to send jury home on Friday morning.
According to Variety's report , Sommer subsequently grilled Santa Fe County Sherriff's Detective Alexandria Hancock about why the bullets were logged under a separate case n.
