Alec Baldwin pleads not guilty over 'Rust' shooting charge
February 1, 2024US actor Alec Baldwin on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter relating to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust" in 2021.
On January 19, Baldwin was indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter.
Baldwin, a producer and actor on the film, was holding a Colt .45 during rehearsals for the low-budget Western in New Mexico when it discharged a live round, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has repeatedly denied responsibility for the shooting, insisting that he did not pull the trigger of the gun, which should have been loaded with a non-lethal blank in any case.
New charges against Baldwin
Baldwin was originally charged with the shooting in January 2023. Those charges were dropped a few months later based on evidence that the revolver's hammer may have been modified to allow it to fire without the trigger being pulled.
The new charges came after an independent forensic test concluded that Baldwin would have had to pull the trigger of the revolver he was using in a rehearsal for it to fire the live round that struck Hutchins in the chest and killed her.
Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the film's armourer, has previously pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering and is set to go on trial on February 21.
dh/jsi (AFP, Reuters)