A U.S. prosecutor has asked the U.S. court to reverse its mistrial of actor Alec Baldwin on manslaughter charges, arguing that there were procedural flaws in the case that shocked Hollywood, according to a court document released Wednesday.
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The trial, which concerns the accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of the movie “Rust,” was canceled in July after the judge criticized the prosecution for not providing the defense with bullets related to the case.
In a court filing made public Wednesday, New Mexico District Attorney Kari Morrissey challenged the ruling, saying the prosecution withheld some evidence because it was irrelevant to the case, she said.
“There was no cover-up because there was nothing to cover up,” she said, asking “the court to reverse its dismissal of the case.”
On set, the 66-year-old American star brandished a gun that was supposed to hold only blanks, but which fired a real projectile. The shot killed Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
Marked by numerous weaknesses and twists, the investigation has never established how real bullets, absolutely forbidden on a film set, ended up on the set of “Rust”.
Alec Baldwin’s lawyers had directly accused the police of having “buried” evidence that could explain the tragedy, in reference to a batch of bullets given to the sheriff.
However, these bullets were never transmitted to the defense, which was unable to have them examined.
The prosecution says the bullets do not match the one that took Ms. Hutchins’ life. “It’s a red herring,” prosecutor Kari Morrissey said at the time. “It has no probative value.”
After the announcement of the mistrial, Alec Baldwin immediately burst into tears in the arms of his wife Hilaria.
