Actor Alec Baldwin leaves his home as he faces charges of manslaughter in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie ‘Rust’ in New York City on January 31, 2023.
David Dee Delgado | Reuters
Lawyers for Alec Baldwin filed a motion on Friday arguing that New Mexico prosecutors wrongly charged the actor under a statue that doesn’t apply to his case — and which carries a possible death penalty. mandatory five-year prison sentence.
Baldwin was charged with two counts of manslaughter late last month for the fatal October 2021 on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, one of which is more serious and includes image enhancement. firearm that would carry the mandatory prison sentence. If the case goes to trial, jurors will have to decide which manslaughter charge Baldwin is guilty of, if any.
In a petition filed in the First Judicial District of Santa Fe, Baldwin’s attorneys argue that a specific amelioration does not apply to Baldwin because the law was changed in May 2022, seven months after the incident.
“Prosecutors in this case made an unconstitutional and basic error of law in charging Mr. Baldwin under a law that did not exist on the date of the accident,” Baldwin’s attorneys wrote in the motion.
At the time of the incident, New Mexico’s Firearms Improvement Act applied to cases where a firearm was “wielded” in the commission of a non-capital crime, defining wielding as presenting a firearm “with the intent to intimidate or injure a person”. ”
The law was later amended by the New Mexico legislature to remove any mention that a firearm must be brandished, the court filing said.
Baldwin’s attorneys argue that the new version of the law cannot apply to conduct that occurred before it was enacted and called the retroactive application of the improvement “flagrantly unconstitutional.”
“The government’s probable cause statement does not contain any allegation that Mr. Baldwin acted ‘with intent to intimidate or harm any person’ and his description of the alleged conduct makes it clear that the tragic death of the director of the Halyna Hutchins photograph was an accident,” the filing said. States.
“Applying the current version of the law would be unconstitutionally retroactive, and the government has no legitimate basis to charge Mr. Baldwin under the version of the law that existed at the time of the crash.”
In response, Heather Brewer, spokeswoman for New Mexico’s first judicial district attorney, said the motion was nothing more than an attempt to distract “from gross negligence and utter disregard.” security on the ‘Rust’ film set that led to Halyna Hutchins’ death.
“Consistent with good legal practice, the district attorney and special prosecutor will review all motions, even those given to the media before being served on the prosecutor,” Brewer said.
“However, prosecutors and the special prosecutor will always be focused on ensuring that justice is done and that everyone – even celebrities with fancy lawyers – is held accountable under the law.”
