Alec Baldwin has released his thoughts on the Santa Fe County district attorney's office's decision to file criminal charges against him for the shooting of Halyna Hutchins, courtesy of his lawyer.
The DA's office announced on 19 January that they had decided to charge the actor with involuntary manslaughter, following a shooting that took place while he was filming Rust back in October of 2021.
The film's armorer who was in charge of weapons on the set, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, and the film's assistant director, David Halls, has agreed to plead guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon.
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In light of the decision, which came over two months after the county sheriff's office released the findings of their investigation, the star's attorney, Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel, has released a statement to People Magazine.
"This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins' tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice," he said.
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The late cinematographer is survived by her husband, Matthew Hutchins, and their 9-year-old son, Aldous. Her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in February of 2022.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe actor previously maintained his innocence in an interview with George Stephanopoulos
Further defending his client, the actor's attorney said: "Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun – or anywhere on the movie set."
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He added: "He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds."
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe late cinematographer's family reached a settlement with Alec in October of 2022
The county sheriff's investigation initially set out to investigate how a live round got into the gun Alec was holding, which was meant to be a prop gun. Investigators found five live rounds on set, not including the bullet that had been fired from the gun, though the sheriff's office final report did not include theories as to how the ammunition got to the New Mexico set in the first place.
Charges will be formally filed before the end of the month, though the lawyer maintained the 30 Rock lead's innocence, concluding: "We will fight these charges, and we will win."
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