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Alec Baldwin's Lawyers Seek Dismissal Of Involuntary Manslaughter Charges Against Actor; 'This Is An Abuse Of The System'
Amidst the ongoing legal saga, Baldwin maintains his innocence, asserting that he was unaware the gun contained live ammunition.
Trigger Warning: This article contains references to death, which could trigger some readers.
Alec Baldwin’s legal team has asked a Mexico court to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter charges against the actor that stem from the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of the movie Rust, according to the New York Post.
The plea comes a week after a jury, in a separate trial, found the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, guilty of the same charge as Baldwin.
In 2021, Hutchins was hit by a live round fired from a Colt. 45 gun that Baldwin was rehearsing with inside a wooden church on the New Mexico set. Ever since, Baldwin, the actor-producer of the film, has denied any responsibility, saying he wasn't aware the weapon contained live rounds instead of false ones that are typically used for film shootings.
Here's what his lawyers asked the court on Thursday.
Alec Baldwin, via his lawyers, alleges prosecutorial misconduct in the Rust shooting case
Among the many claims made by Baldwin’s elaborate legal team on Thursday, one particular allegation stood out. Per The Guardian, the actor’s lawyers alleged that the prosecution gave the grand jury instructions on manslaughter that “unfairly stacked the deck against Baldwin.” 
“Enough is enough,” the lawyers said.
“This is an abuse of the system and an abuse of an innocent person whose rights have been trampled to the extreme. The court should dismiss the indictment.”
Further alleging the prosecution of pursuing a vendetta against Baldwin, his lawyers claimed that prosecutors “unlawfully deprived” the grand jury of evidence that was favorable to Baldwin, including a failure to make Baldwin's witness “available to testify.”
They added that the prosecutors had “publically dragged Baldwin through the cesspool created by their improprieties, without any regard for the fact that serious criminal charges have been hanging over his head for two and a half years.“
Alec Baldwin is scheduled to stand before the Santa Fe, New Mexico, jury on July 10.
Rust Shooting case: Who else has been charged or convicted?
After a two-week trial, the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was tasked with the responsibility of looking after the safety of the weapons on the set, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this month.
The charge on which she was found guilty carries a maximum jail time of 18 months and a $5,000 fine.
Besides her, in March last year, the film’s first assistant director, David Halls, received six months of unsupervised probation as a part of a plea deal in connection to the fatal on-set shooting. Per ABC News, it was Halls who handed the revolver to Alec Baldwin.
According to his lawyers, he wasn't aware there were live rounds in the firearm.
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