Jury selection begins today for Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter trial

Jury selection in the case of Alec Baldwin, who is suspected of shooting photographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the 2021 western “Fatal Shooting,” is set to begin Tuesday. rust In New Mexico.

Baldwin, who was both an actor and a producer on the film, faces charges stemming from the time he was rehearsing a scene with a revolver when the gun fired a live bullet, killing Huggins and wounding director Joel Sosa.

Jury selection is expected to last all day. The first day of the trial is Wednesday and it could last until July 19.

If convicted, Baldwin faces up to 18 months in prison.

The charges against Baldwin were initially dropped in April 2023 after the local district attorney’s initial case collapsed because prosecutors said there was evidence the gun had been modified to make it more likely to accidentally discharge — the charges were reinstated months later in January after a New Mexico grand jury heard new evidence — and Baldwin pleaded not guilty a second time to a manslaughter charge.

In May, New Mexico Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer denied Baldwin’s request to dismiss the new manslaughter charge.

While practicing the so-called cross draw maneuver at a church on the film set in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the gun fired a live round, striking Hutchins, who died instantly, and Sosa, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

The gun was supposed to be loaded with blanks, but it actually had a live round inside.

Baldwin has always insisted that he did not pull the trigger when the gun went off, and denied responsibility for Hutchins’ death on the grounds that there should not be live ammunition on the set. Prosecutors believe that Baldwin refused to participate in the armorer’s safety inspection, ignored the risks, and that the way he used the gun was not in line with the requirements of the rehearsal.

His attorneys argued that Baldwin could not be held responsible for Hutchins’ death because actors should rely on professionals to ensure the safe use of weapons on set.

An independent report last year insisted that the gun could hardly have been fired unless Baldwin himself pulled the trigger, and suggested he could face manslaughter charges again.[AP]