Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter charge dismissal appealed by prosecutor

The prosecutor in Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter case for the movie “Rust,” has filed an appeal, looking to overturn a judge’s decision to throw out the charge.

The notice was filed Thursday in New Mexico court by special prosecutor Kari Morrissey.

When the judge dismissed Baldwin’s case over the summer, Morrissey argued in a separate court filing that there were “insufficient facts” to support Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer’s ruling that the state withheld evidence and the case could not be retried.

Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to the 2021 deadly shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western movie “Rust.” The charge against Baldwin was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it can’t be brought back to court after the prosecution exhausts its appeals.

“We sincerely doubt Attorney General Torrez will be pursuing this appeal, which would only further the unethical and corrupt conduct that gave rise to the Court’s dismissal,” Baldwin’s attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said in a statement to The Hill.

The case was dismissed about halfway through trial. Baldwin pleaded not guilty.

Baldwin, 66, was pointing a gun while on set and it went off, killing Hutchins and wounding the movie’s director Joel Souza.

The state was accused of withholding evidence because it did not turn over ammunition that was brought into a sheriff’s office in March by a man who said it could have been from the shooting. It was dismissed after that.

The film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Prosecutors argued she brought live ammunition on set when there are rules against it.

Updated Nov. 27 at 1:57 p.m.

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