Alec Baldwin tries to drop manslaughter charge | US News

Alec Baldwin is trying to prosecute one of the manslaughter charges, which could be dismissed in U.S. courts and could see him jailed for up to five years.

The actor’s lawyers argued that New Mexico prosecutors made an “unconstitutional and fundamental legal error” by charging him under a statute that didn’t exist at the time of the fatal shooting.

Baldwin Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was charged with two counts of manslaughter by the Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office for her October 2021 death on the set of the western “Rusty.”

The first charge may be called manslaughter and requires evidence of underlying negligence.

The second charge, involuntary manslaughter while committing a lawful act, requires proof that the death was more than simple negligence but also included firearm augmentation, making the offense a mandatory five-year prison term.

But in a filing Friday, Baldwin’s lawyers said the enhancement was only enacted last May, seven months after the incident, making the charge “unlawful.”

“The prosecutors in this case committed an unconstitutional and fundamental legal error in charging Mr. Baldwin based on a statute that did not exist at the time of the accident,” the motion reads.

“It therefore appears that the administration intends to charge for the current version of the gun enhancement regulations, which will not be enacted until May 18, 2022, seven months after the accident.”

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Baldwin’s attorney pledges to fight

“Mr. Baldwin also respectfully requests that the Court decline to bind this improvement,” the document added.

Baldwin wants his first court appearance Within two weeks of February 24, charges will be faced.

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it is in a separate civil action It was filed by Ms Hutchins’ family on Thursday.

The family is suing Baldwin and Rust Films, alleging battery, intentional emotional distress, negligence and financial loss.

A joint loss is a claim for damages to certain interdependent relationships.

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