Alec Baldwin Manslaughter Case Is Over, as ‘Rust’ Prosecutor Drops Appeal

variety.com:

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Alec Baldwin‘s manslaughter case is finally over. On Monday, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey announced she has withdrawn her appeal of a judge’s order dismissing the case.

The decision came after the state attorney general’s office said that it “did not intend to exhaustively pursue the appeal on behalf of the prosecution,” the prosecutor said.

Baldwin was accused of involuntary manslaughter in the October 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. At a trial last July, the prosecution intended to show that Baldwin was reckless and criminally negligent when he fired a Colt .45 while preparing for a scene in the movie “Rust.” But Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case on the third day of the trial, after learning that the prosecution had failed to turn over key evidence — a cache of bullets — to the defense.

The judge blasted Morrissey’s handling of the case, calling it “so near to bad faith as to show signs of scorching.” Baldwin’s lawyers argued that the prosecution had deliberately withheld the evidence, which could have been used in his defense.