Special Prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey gave a glimpse into the Alec Baldwin criminal proceedings, saying his judgment day was coming.
After winning a conviction in the “Rust” movie armorer’s trial, New Mexico prosecutors now will turn their focus to actor Alec Baldwin, hoping to prove he is criminally liable for the accidental death of the film’s cinematographer in October 2021.
In fact, Special Prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey didn’t wait for the 12-person jury in Santa Fe, N.M., to find weapons handler Hannah Gutierrez guilty of involuntary manslaughter before introducing evidence that could be damaging to Baldwin.
During closing arguments Wednesday, Morrissey ripped into Baldwin and his gun use on the “Rust” set, particularly when he pointed his prop gun toward director of photography Halyna Hutchins, who was standing mere feet away, while he rehearsed a scene in a rustic church. Hutchins was shot, and died that afternoon.
“Alec Baldwin’s conduct and his lack of gun safety inside that church on that day is something that he’s going to have to answer for,” Morrissey vowed to the jury in Gutierrez’s case.
But legal experts gave mixed opinions over whether Gutierrez’s conviction will boost prosecutors’ chances of winning a guilty verdict against Baldwin in the “Rust” shooting. The actor-producer was charged in January with involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ death, hours after she was shot on the remote movie location just south of Santa Fe. If convicted, he faces up to 18 months in prison.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty; his trial is set for July. His attorneys, through a spokesperson, declined to comment Thursday.
Legal experts said they’ve been impressed by the skill and swagger of New Mexico prosecutors, two experienced attorneys from Albuquerque who inherited the case nearly a year ago. A previous set of prosecutors, including the Santa Fe County district attorney, was forced to step down last year from the Gutierrez and Baldwin cases after a series of missteps.
Morrissey, in particular, has shown a willingness to take on Baldwin’s prosecution. She and her legal partner, Jason J. Lewis, successfully outmaneuvered Gutierrez’s defense attorneys, who tried to shift the blame for the tragedy to the film’s production managers and producers, including Baldwin.
On Wednesday, the 12-person jury deliberated only about two hours before returning the guilty verdict against Gutierrez.
“Baldwin’s legal team must view this result with trepidation,” former federal prosecutor John Fishwick said Thursday. “This conviction is big momentum for the prosecution.”
However, other veteran lawyers pointed to several complications in the case that could make a Baldwin conviction harder to obtain.
