Alec Baldwin's Defense Admits He Pulled the Trigger at Manslaughter Trial
Plus: The actor's lawyers say actors don't have to follow gun safety rules in manslaughter trial opening statement
Since the moment he shot and killed his cinematographer, Alec Baldwin claimed he did not pull the trigger. His story has been that the gun just “went off”, so he did not break an important gun safety rule.
However, Baldwin dramatically changed his defense during Wednesday's manslaughter trial opening arguments about the shooting on the “Rust” movie set.
Pulled the Trigger
Defense counsel Alex Spiro began by showing the jury the video (below) of Baldwin earlier on the day of the shooting with his finger inside the trigger guard. This seemingly damning evidence was addressed as Spiro introduced the new defense.
Spiro then looked up at the Santa Fe jury and said, “No one saw him intentionally pull the trigger.”
“Intentionally.” Spiro repeated it multiple times.
A stone-faced Baldwin watched his lawyer essentially say the actor has lied for almost three years.
You’ll remember that Baldwin got off the manslaughter charge the first time by claiming the gun had been altered so it could fire without a trigger pull. But I predicted a year ago that he would face a jury trial.
Spiro said that even if the prosecution’s can prove he pulled the trigger -- which they will with expert witnesses on firearms -- it doesn’t matter.
“If he did [pull the trigger], of course, that would only make his statement incorrect,” claimed Spiro. “That would mean he misspoke, was incorrect.”
The defense attorney claimed pulling the trigger was a non issue either way.
“Even if he intentionally pulled the trigger...That doesn’t make him guilty of homicide,” said Spiro. “He did not know the gun was loaded with a live bullet.”
Actor’s Privileges
Spiro claimed the actor has special privileges and does not need to adhere to the safety rule to always check to see if a firearm is loaded. There was one real bullet in the revolver.
“Actors don't check the weapon. Safety is ensured by someone else,” said Spiro.
He said the crew was responsible for checking to see if the gun was loaded for Baldwin. He blamed the “live round” in the gun on armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who was convicted of manslaughter, and Assistant Director Dave Halls, who pled guilty to a lesser charge.
Spiro argued that actors can’t check their own guns because of their creative process. “The gun has to be safe before it’s put in the actor’s hand because he’s thinking about his role as Harlan Rust,” claimed the attorney.
Special Prosecutor Erlinda O. Johnson said earlier in the day:
The evidence will show that someone who made ‘make believe’ with a real gun and violated the cardinal rules of firearns safety is the defendant Alexander Baldwin.
Johnson explained to the jury, “While it was a movie set, it was a real workplace... A prop gun is a real gun.” She said that every time Baldwin was handed the gun, he never did a safety check with the “inexperienced armorer.”
The defense claimed Baldwin didn’t want to “offend” Hannah.
Case Against Baldwin
Before the defense essentially admitted Baldwin pulled the trigger, the prosecution described what their witnesses will say about the claim.
“Firearm experts will tell you that gun will not discharge without a pull of that trigger,” said Johnson.
No one saw him intentionally pull the trigger
The prosecutor explained that “because the defendant is claiming he didn’t pull the trigger,” the state had forensic testing on it by the FBI and an independent expert.
(Watch below when Baldwin declared on ABC that he didn’t pull the trigger.)
FBI expert Brye Ziegler will testify that, in tests, “not once did the gun malfunction or discharge on its own.”
Independent and highly respected firearm expert Lucien Haig will testify that the “gun the defendant asked to be assigned worked perfectly fine as it was designed.”
Johnson spelled out how Baldwin didn’t adhere to any of the three gun safety rules -- check if the gun is loaded, put your finger on the trigger only when you’re ready to shoot and keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
Instead, Baldwin intentionally pointed the gun at Hutchins, with director Joel Souza behind her. Baldwin blamed Hutchins for telling him to point it at her.
“He pointed the gun at another human being, cocked the hammer and pulled the trigger in reckless disregard for Ms. Hutchins’s safety,” declared the prosecution. “For justice to be served, the only true verdict is guilty.”
Baldwin’s defense countered: “Justice is the truth. Alec Baldwin committed no crime.”
Was Baldwin Lying About Not Pulling the Trigger?
Spiro left open the possibility that the defense would revert back to Baldwin’s claim that he did not pull the trigger. He said the gun owner's manual said it can “go off” from being dropped.
As I’ve written in the past, Baldwin most likely believed in the beginning, he didn’t pull the trigger because of the complicated firearm maneuver. He did a cross draw-- which means taking the gun out of a holster with your opposite hand. He had refused the armorer’s request that he train to do the maneuver.
Plus,