Mexico City.- Kari Morrissey, special prosecutor in the Rust case, argued that Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter charge was improperly dismissed because the judge misinterpreted the evidence in a crucial review.
Morrissey said in a statement released yesterday that he was “still struggling” to understand the ruling, which said there were no grounds to overturn Alec’s conviction or to overturn that of gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who is serving an 18-month sentence for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The case was dropped last month after it was revealed that a batch of bullets had not been disclosed in the charges, three of which appeared to match the real ones found on the film set.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer rebuked Morrissey for “willful and deliberate misconduct” and for making false statements to the jury about the bullets.
Gutierrez-Reed has filed a motion for a new trial on similar grounds, alleging the prosecutor withheld exculpatory evidence.
They allege that at his sentencing the state failed to turn over an interview with gun supplier Seth Kenney and a forensic report that found unexplained tool marks on Baldwin’s gun, which were turned over to the defense only after the trial.
The prosecutor believes that the cache of bullets is not exculpatory for either the actor or the gun shop and that no witness in either case saw them, possessed them or knew of their existence.
He added that the defense of the producer was not harmed by the lack of disclosure because they knew of the existence of the bullets before the trial.
Defense attorney Jason Bowles also blamed Morrissey for failing to take possession of the batch of bullets before trial and submit them for testing.
In response, Morrissey argued that Hannah obtained the bullets from her father, gunsmith Thell Reed, that Kenney’s undisclosed interview merely repeated statements he had made earlier, and that the forensic report was unhelpful on the gunsmith’s behalf because the defense maintained the gun was in working order.
Gutiérrez Reed has been in custody since her conviction on March 6. No date has been set for a new trial request.
#Evidence #misinterpreted #Baldwin #case #Prosecutor
