Prosecutors drop effort to get court to reinstate charges against Baldwin in fatal 'Rust' shooting

New Mexico prosecutors on Monday ended their court effort to get involuntary manslaughter and other charges reinstated against actor Alec Baldwin in connection with a 2021 fatal shooting on the set of the film "Rust," signaling a definite end to the years-long court battle.

Baldwin was charged with of firing the gun on the set of the Western film that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded the film's director. Baldwin has denied ever pulling the trigger, and Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case in July, ruling that prosecutors withheld critical evidence.

Special Prosecutor Kari Morrissey said she withdrew the appeal Monday because the state “did not intend to exhaustively pursue the appeal on behalf of the prosecution," according to the Associated Press. However, the Santa Fe district attorney's office said the New Mexico attorney general would have moved forward with this appeal. 

“As a result, the State’s efforts to continue to litigate the case in a fair and comprehensive manner have been met with multiple barriers that have compromised its ability to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,” local prosecutors said in a statement.

The case was dismissed after attorneys for Baldwin claimed the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office possessed live rounds of ammunition that were considered evidence, but did not record them properly in the case file or reveal their existence to the defense. Prosecutors had claimed the ammo was unrelated and unimportant.

The dismissal marked a major victory for Baldwin,  who would have faced up to 18 months in prison if convicted. The film's armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.