Alec Baldwin may face manslaughter charges again after new forensic report
The experts reconstructed the gun, which had been broken during earlier testing by the FBI, and concluded that it could only have been fired by a pull of the trigger.
IANS
LOS ANGELES: Actor Alec Baldwin could once again be facing charges of manslaughter after his close shave with the same back in June as he was charged with shooting his cinematographer back in 2021 on set with live rounds during filming. A new report has found that his Colt .45 revolver would only fire if the trigger was pulled.
This could once again reignite the charges which Baldwin barely managed to escape from last time, as this would imply deliberate intention to murder.
Baldwin was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter in the October 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of 'Rust'. But the charge was dropped after the defense noted that his piece was fully customised, which raised doubts about whether it was even working properly at the time of the shooting.
Analysts also noting that customised pieces often tend to malfunction, particularly in regards to trigger mechanism, often leading to misfiring, unintentional shooting, jamming and even exploding as there is no reliability.
According to Variety, special prosecutors on the case, Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis, commissioned a new forensic examination of the gun and have been waiting on the results before deciding whether to re-file the charges. The report, by Lucien and Michael Haag, was submitted to them earlier this month and released them on August 15 in a public court filing.
The experts reconstructed the gun, which had been broken during earlier testing by the FBI, and concluded that it could only have been fired by a pull of the trigger.
"This fatal incident was the consequence of the hammer being manually retracted to its fully rearward and cocked position followed, at some point, by the pull or rearward depression of the trigger," the report concluded.
"Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver." The prosecutors had previously stated that Baldwin will be charged again if the gun was working properly.
