Alec Baldwin will be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter over the death of Halyna Hutchins, a decision that has angered fellow actor Mickey Rourke.
The Santa Fe District Attorney said on Thursday that Baldwin would face charges over the accidental shooting on the set of Rust in 2021, causing the death of cinematographer Hutchins.
The movie's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, is facing the same charges, while David Halls, Rust's assistant director, signed a plea agreement for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. He received a suspended sentence and six months of probation.
Reacting to the news, Rourke spoke out in Baldwin's defense. The 70-year-old wrote that it is "terribly terribly wrong" he's being charged at all, in a lengthy statement on his Instagram on Thursday evening.
"I usually never put my 2 cents in about what happens on someone's movie set. It's a terrible tragedy what happened to a cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. But no way in hell actor Alec Baldwin should be charged with any negligence whatsoever," Rourke wrote, alongside an image of Baldwin.
He added that the 30 Rock star will have been naive to the dangers. "Most actors don't know anything about guns especially if they didn't grow up around them. Alec didn't bring the gun to the set from his house or his car, when weapons are involved on a movie set, the guns are supposed to he handled only by the 'weapon armor'."
Rourke is no stranger to the use of prop guns on movie sets, having appeared in a number of action movies that featured guns, including Iron Man 2, Sin City, The Expendables and more.
"In some cases the 1st [Assistant Director] might pass a gun to an actor, but most of the time the gun is handed to the actor directly by the 'gun armor.' [That's] what armor's job is on the set, to have an expert around any type of dangerous weapon. The actor then has an option of dry firing the gun [...] himself to double check."
Rourke added: "No way in hell should Alec Baldwin be blamed for this unfortunate tragedy. Why the powers to be charging Baldwin with this responsibility is terribly wrong. I am sure Alec is already suffering enough over what happened. But to lay a blame on him is terribly terribly wrong."
Rourke signed off his statement, "with my deepest condolences to Halyna Hutchins, to her family and her friends."
Rourke isn't the only one to believe Baldwin shouldn't be charged over "negligence."
"I don't see jail for Alec Baldwin as a likely outcome because of a lack of prior history and mitigating circumstances," Seattle attorney and former prosecutor Kirk C. Davis told Newsweek. "I'm not a fan of negligence leading to criminal charges even though this is a correct charge under the law in New Mexico. I don't think he should be charged."
The New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced Baldwin's charges. "After a thorough review of the evidence and the laws of the state of New Mexico, I have determined that there is sufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Alec Baldwin and other members of the Rust film crew."
Carmack-Altwies ended her statement: "On my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice."
Baldwin's legal team was quick to refute the decision. The actor is being represented by Luke Nikas, of the New York-based firm Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart & Sullivan, and he shared a statement with Newsweek.
"This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins' tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice," Nikas said. "Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun—or anywhere on the movie set.
"He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win."
The president of production company Rosso Films International, Stefano Da Frè, believes the outcome of this situation, whether Baldwin is charged or not, will have a significant impact on the wider entertainment industry.
"If he is found guilty on these charges, that decision will forever impact all legal precedent for personal accountability on all Hollywood actors using firearms for the next 50 years," Da Frè told Newsweek.
Update 1/20/2023, 11:00 a.m. EST: This article was updated with quotes from Kirk C. Davis and Stefano Da Frè.
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