Wednesday, January 15, 2025 - American actor, Alec Baldwin has filed a lawsuit against those involved in pursuing criminal charges against him over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the film set of Rust.
He is suing the defendants, including special prosecutor
Kari Morrissey and Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, for
malicious prosecution and civil rights violations.
Baldwin claims prosecutors were "blinded by their
desire to convict [him] for all the wrong reasons".
In a statement, Ms Morrisey said: "We look forward to
our day in court." BBC News has contacted Ms Carmack-Altwies for comment.
Baldwin's lawsuit alleges that prosecutors intentionally
concealed evidence that would absolve the actor from blame and "sought at
every turn to scapegoat" him to "maliciously bring about or
advance" his trial and conviction.
In a statement to BBC News, Ms Morrissey said: "In
October 2023 the prosecution team became aware that Mr Baldwin intended to file
a retaliatory civil lawsuit. We look forward to our day in court."
The lawsuit was filed less than a month after Ms Morrissey
withdrew an appeal over the court's decision to dismiss an involuntary
manslaughter charge against Baldwin, following the 2021 fatal sho0ting of Ms
Hutchins on the Santa Fe film set.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer of the film, was
pointing a gun when the revolver went off, killing the cinematographer and
wounding director Joel Souza.
The actor's involuntary manslaughter trial was upended in
July when a judge threw the case out based on the misconduct of police and
prosecutors over the withholding of ammunition evidence from the defence.
After the lawsuit was filed, Baldwin's lawyers Luke Nikas
and Alex Spiro said in a joint statement given to the PA news agency:
"Criminal prosecutions are supposed to be about the search for truth and
justice, not to pursue personal or political gain or harass the innocent.
"Kari Morrissey and the other defendants violated that
basic principle, over and over, and trampled on Alec Baldwin's rights.
"We bring this action to hold the defendants
accountable for their misconduct and to prevent them from doing this to anyone
else."
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