- Alec Baldwin’s lawyers are trying to reject an enhancement that would extend his prison term.
- The enhancement was edited in May 2022, a year before Halyna Hutchins was filmed.
- The first judicial district attorney said he would consider the motion, but called it a distraction.
Lawyers for Alec Baldwin are contesting part of a charge related to cinematographer Halyna Hutchins’ filming on the set of the movie “Rust” in October 2021 because she did not exist at the time of filming.
In January, Mary Carmack-Altwies, New Mexico’s first judicial district attorney accused Baldwin with two counts of manslaughter. Baldwin is “alternatively charged,” meaning that if his case goes to trial, he can only be convicted on one of the charges, which includes 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine.
One of the manslaughter charges also includes firearm enhancement, which carries an additional five years in prison.
However, in a petition filed on Friday, Baldwin’s attorneys called the retroactive application of the enhancement an “unconstitutional and elementary legal error,” saying it violated the Ex Post Facto clause of the constitutions of the United States and the United States. New Mexico.
During the shooting, the New Mexico Gun Improvement Act could increase a three-year sentence. The law was updated in May 2022 to add two more years to the bonus.
The Pre-Firearms Improvement Act 2022 also clarifies that it would only apply when a firearm was “raised” before a shot, defined as meaning the display of a firearm in the firearm. intention “to intimidate or injure a person”. Baldwin’s attorneys argue that the district attorney’s probable cause statement “nowhere alleges that Mr. Baldwin acted with such intent.”
THE updated status gets rid of the definition of “brandishing” and states that any non-capital crime involving the discharge of a weapon would attract the five-year increment.
Heather Brewer, spokeswoman for New Mexico’s first judicial district attorney, told Insider in a statement that they would consider the motion, but were still focused on holding Baldwin “accountable under the law. “.
“Another day, another motion from Alec Baldwin and his attorneys in an attempt to distract from the gross negligence and utter disregard for safety on the ‘Rust’ film set that led to Halyna’s death. Hutchins,” Brewer said.
The same fees and bonuses were also applied to Hannah Gutierrez-Reedthe gunsmith in charge of the guns on the Santa Fe film set. In a statement to VarietyJason Bowles, Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney, said they would also address improving the charges.
Neami Rahmani, chairman of the West Coast Trial lawyers, argued that Baldwin’s lawyers were right, saying in a statement to Insider that it was “likely” the judge would dismiss the improved charges.
“Prosecutors are in over their heads,” Rahmani wrote. “This is already a tough case and they are making mistakes at every turn – waiting too long to prosecute, having a special prosecutor who is a member of the state legislature whose involvement raises a separation of powers issue, and which now faces a problem of constitutional violation.”
Baldwin’s attorneys and Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.