The Alec Baldwin trial

[boingy]

Fascinating. Watched a lot of the opening day. An absolute tragedy for all involved. Can’t blame Baldwin at all in my eyes. The blame is all down to the props team after producing the “cold gun” for the scene. How on earth did a real bullet end up in there? Baldwin had no idea but is getting all the blame put on him. I can understand the Victims family’s anger of course but finding someone to blame who was just acting out a scene is not right. You can follow it on BBC iplayer. (If you want of course )

[mickd1961]

It certainly has the feel of either someone wanting someone dead or they wanted to set up Baldwin for a fall.

If you’re handed a gun on set from a professional props department then how on earth can you be classed as responsible in a scenario such as this.

If you go to a garage to have a full service and the fix on the breaks isn’t done properly and you then run someone over it’s the garage at fault.

If a plane falls out of the sky due to a bad piece of maintenance or a systems error it isn’t the pilots fault.

We’ll not unless you’re flying for Boeing.

[Albionic68]

I haven't been keeping close tabs on the trial but I do know he's up for involuntary manslaughter. And from what I've read he doesn't seem entirely blameless either.

He didn't load the bullets but he definitely pointed the gun at the camera crew following a cross body draw with a c o cked weapon which has apparently been found to work safely.

From what I gather the armourer has already served an eighteeen month sentence and I can definitely understand calls for him to do the same.

[Leicesterbaggie]

What I don’t understand is why the armourer would have live bullets on the set in the first place. Why would they be needed?

[Albionic68]

What I don’t understand is why the armourer would have live bullets on the set in the first place. Why would they be needed?

I'm not sure LB but I imagine it had something to do with it being in America where they have guns and bullets all over the place whether they need them or not just in case the greatest technologically equipped military superpower the world has ever seen comes under surprise attack.

[Omegstrat6]

Can't help but agree that, regardless of Baldwin acting out any moves, the ultimate responsibility lies with the set armourer. How on earth a live round got into the gun is beyond me but it was her job to check.

On the other hand even blanks can injure and even kill so Baldwin should not have pointed the weapon at her or fired it whether he thought it was loaded with blanks or not. He denies both of course but I'm not 100% convinced. Maybe a lot of this is down to the prevailing gun culture in the US? Certainly the data regarding victims of firearms, especially from accidental discharge, would suggest a very lax attitude towards them when it comes to health and safety.

[boingy]

He was being directed to point the gun at the camera. He was just being directed. No blame for me. Tragic because she was a friend.

[boingy]

SANTA FE, New Mexico, July 12 (Reuters) - A New Mexico judge dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin on Friday, agreeing with his lawyers that prosecutors and police withheld evidence on the source of the live round that killed "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.
Three days after Baldwin's trial began, New Mexico district court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer threw out the case as the actors' lawyers alleged a "cover up" by prosecutors who have been plagued by missteps since first filing charges 18 months ago.

Good.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/alec-baldwin-trial-suspense-judge-mulls-motion-dismiss-charge-2024-07-12/