Alec Baldwin finally cleared of manslaughter charges. Actor sheds tears

A US court has finally dropped the criminal case against Alec Baldwin on charges of manslaughter in the shooting of cameraman Galina Hutchins on the set of the film Rust, CBS News reports.

The prosecution had previously claimed that Baldwin had violated firearm safety rules on set, but the defense blamed those who allowed the fake gun to be loaded with real bullets and failed to check the props before use. The actor himself, according to his lawyers, did not know that the gun was real.

In addition, Baldwin's lawyers accused prosecutors of concealing evidence. Notably, during the hearing, Erlinda Johnson, one of the two prosecutors who led the trial, resigned, and the second prosecutor, Kari Morrissey, called for questioning by the defense as a witness.

Ultimately, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled to dismiss the charges against Baldwin, agreeing that there had been significant evidence violations in the case, namely that evidence favoring the actor had been “intentionally concealed.”

After the judge made her decision, Baldwin broke down in tears. His wife Hilaria, who was in the courtroom, rushed to support him. The couple quickly left without speaking to the media. It should be noted that the prosecutor's office will no longer be able to appeal the court's decision.

The tragic incident involving Alec Baldwin occurred during the filming of the movie Rust in October 2021. During a rehearsal for one of the scenes, the actor fired a revolver that turned out to be loaded with live ammunition instead of blanks. As a result, cameraman Galina Hutchins died, and director Joel Soules was injured. It was later revealed that weapons specialist Hannah Gutierrez-Reed accidentally mixed up the prop bullets with live ammunition that she brought from home. The woman has already been sentenced to 18 months in prison.