Prosecutors in the Alec Baldwin “Rust” film set shooting case look pretty silly right now. They had to drop their toughest gun penalty due to a legal error.
Prosecutors in the Alec Baldwin “Rust” film set shooting case are looking pretty silly right now. There are two main reasons for that: They just had to drop their toughest gun penalty due to an elementary legal error, and their justification for correcting that error is foolish at best.
Here’s what happened.
As I explained last week, Baldwin’s attorneys challenged the gun-charge enhancement that New Mexico prosecutors initially tagged on the actor in the 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. (Baldwin has denied any wrongdoing.) The enhancement carries a five-year mandatory penalty, instead of the 18 months he could otherwise face if convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The problem with that enhancement, however, is that it didn’t become law until after the alleged crime. That’s a big no-no, Constitution-wise, as Baldwin’s attorneys pointed out.
If a prosecutor is distracted by legal arguments, then they’re in the wrong line of work.
District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies’ office apparently agreed. Her office filed an amended charge Friday that didn’t include the enhancement.
