Alec Baldwin’s grandfather? Lawyers point to major changes to the law in 2022

Lawyers for actor Alec Baldwin, who is currently facing charges of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halina Hutchins on the set of his film Rust, allege that Baldwin was charged with the death in October 2021 under New York’s version of the law. Mexico. this was not adopted until 2022.

If convicted, Baldwin faces a maximum sentence of 18 months under the books law in 2021, according to The New York Times. The new version of the law, HB 68, signed into law by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham last March, increases the maximum sentence to five years.

In a motion filed Friday, Baldwin’s lawyer Luke Nikas wrote: “Prosecutors made a major legal error in charging Mr. Baldwin under a version of the firearms improvement law that did not exist at the date of the accident.”

Nikas is right. Baldwin is to be charged under the laws in force at the time of the incident. Changes to the law made after the fact should have no bearing on the case.

The Times reported that Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the prosecution, said in a statement that Friday’s motion was “an attempt to divert attention from the gross negligence and total disregard for safety on the set of Rust that led to the death of Halina Hutchins.”

“Prosecution’s special focus will always be on ensuring that justice is done and that everyone is held accountable under the law — even celebrities with fancy lawyers,” the statement said.

On January 31, both Baldwin and the film’s gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reid were charged with the manslaughter of Hutchins.

Lawyers for Gutierrez-Rid filed a similar motion on Friday. The Times reported that lawyer Jason Bowles “noted that Ms. Gutierrez-Reid was not holding the firearm when it fired, arguing that the conduct she is accused of was not in line with the wording of the law.”

According to the Times, the debate over which version of the law should apply also “depends on the exact wording of the law.”

“The version in the New Mexico books where Ms. Hutchins was murdered… applies when the weapon is ‘branded’ in a non-capital crime. The newer version provides for a minimum of five years in prison if the firearm was “unloaded” in a non-capital felony.

“According to the law’s definition of “arm-waving,” the act must be done “with the intent to intimidate or injure a person.”

In their motion, Baldwin’s lawyers indicated that nowhere in the statement of probable cause was Baldwin accused of acting “with intent to intimidate or harm a person”.

In a statement, Robert Schilling, a special investigator for the district attorney’s office, outlined the prosecution’s case against Baldwin. The actor is accused of negligence, which “directly caused the fatal shooting.”

Schilling wrote, “BALDWIN did not attend the mandatory firearms training prior to filming. Statements, testimonies from [the Occupational Safety and Health Administration]and the evidence shows that BALDWIN received only minimal firearms training, even after REED requested additional training for BALDWIN.”

In a December 2021 interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, Baldwin stated that he did not pull the trigger.

Question asked @GStefanopoulos how a real bullet hit the set of Rust, Alec Baldwin says, “I have no idea. Someone put a live bullet in a gun. A bullet that shouldn’t even have been in the area.”

Watch TOMORROW at 8 pm ET on ABC and stream later @hulu. pic.twitter.com/OnpDuYERiC

— ABC News (@ABC) December 1, 2021

While these and other remarks did not elicit much sympathy from him, there is no indication that Baldwin acted with malice. It was an accident that was the fault of a man who ignored the most elementary rules for handling firearms.

Unfortunately, the results of his negligence were fatal. And Baldwin must obey the laws that existed in the state at the time of the incident.