Alec Baldwin.Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
Alec Baldwinfaces two charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the fatal on-set shooting ofRustcinematographerHalyna Hutchins— and if convicted of the most serious charge, the actor could face five years in prison.
On Thursday, New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced that Baldwin, the 64-year-oldRustactor and producer, along with armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, will face both chargesfor the October 2021 shooting.
Legal expert Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, who has not worked on the case, tells PEOPLE he predicts Baldwin would spend at least a year in jail if found guilty on this charge.
Baldwin also faces a second, more serious charge of involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act, which includes a firearm enhancement. According to the D.A.’s news release, a conviction on this count, with the firearm enhancement, carries a mandatory sentence of five years in state prison.
A news release from the D.A.’s office states that “a jury would decide not simply if they were guilty, but under which definition of involuntary manslaughter they were guilty.”
Rahmani tells PEOPLE that as a celebrity, Baldwin would likely be isolated from the general prison population.
However, Rahmani believes it’s likely that Baldwin will be acquitted.
“I think he has a strong defense case, and he may be acquitted, outright,” he says.
Rahmani believes the case will “absolutely go to trial.”
Halyna Hutchins.James Gourley/Shutterstock
“Baldwin has the money; he has the means. He’s not going to take a deal in this case, and the D.A.’s not going to give a deal,” he speculates.
“Oftentimes, prosecutors are more aggressive when it comes to celebrities,” continues Rahmani, but jurors “love celebrities, so it’s hard to convict them, but prosecutors do feel a lot more political pressure when they give celebrities a free pass.”
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Rustset.Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal/Zuma
According to Rahmani, for the charge of involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act with the firearm enhancement to yield a conviction, prosecutors would have to prove that Baldwin acted recklessly with the gun and not just negligently. Rahmani cited the example of playing Russian Roulette as recklessness, while texting while driving is negligence.
In Rahmani’s opinion, from publicly available facts, Baldwin is the “least culpable” individual involved in the incident, which also includes assistant director David Halls.
Halls took a plea deal for his involvement in the deadly incident. He pleaded guilty to a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon and was handed down a suspended sentence and six months of probation, per the D.A.’s news release.
Assistant director Halls' attorney Lisa Torracco said in a statement, “Mr. Halls accepted a petty misdemeanor charge. Absent no charges at all, this is the best outcome for Mr. Halls and the case. He can now put this matter behind him and allow the focus of this tragedy to be on the shooting victims and changing the industry so this type of accident will never happen again. His charge is a petty misdemeanor. No jail time. Unsupervised probation. $500 fine. Mr. Halls denies handing a firearm to Mr. Baldwin.”
source: people.com
