The judge added that the case cannot be filed again.
Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter case has been dismissed following a motion filed by his defence team accusing the prosecution of concealing evidence.
The extraordinary ruling came almost three years after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on the set of the Western film Rust in New Mexico.
Baldwin, who was starring in the film, was holding and discharged the prop gun that killed the 42-year-old wife and mother in October 2021.
The now 66-year-old actor has always denied the charge of involuntary manslaughter, and maintained he did not pull the gun’s trigger and that others on the set of the film were responsible for safety checks on the weapon.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer declared that the prosecution’s conduct during the trial had been “highly prejudicial” to Baldwin and that there was “no way for the court to right this wrong”.
The breakdown of the case came on the second day of evidence when Baldwin’s defence team learned that the Santa Fe sheriff’s office had taken possession of live rounds as potential evidence earlier this year, on the same day the film’s armourer, Hannah Gutierrez, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for her role in Ms Hutchins’ death.
Investigators did not list these live rounds in the Rust file, nor were they disclosed to defence lawyers. Prosecutors claimed that the ammunition was not connected to the case and was not hidden.
According to The New York Times, Baldwin’s legal team filed their request to dismiss overnight, and the court heard arguments on the motion from both parties without jurors present in the courtroom.
When Judge Marlowe Sommer decided she needed to hear more evidence to make a decision on the motion, she called the jurors in only to dismiss them straight away.
“The late discovery of this evidence during trial has impeded the effective use of evidence in such a way that it has impacted the fundamental fairness of the proceedings,” she told the court.
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Baldwin broke down in tears after the judge announced her decision, and turned to embrace his wife Hilaria who had been supporting him in court throughout the trial.
His brother, Stephen Baldwin, also cried as the judge made the ruling.
The judge added that the case cannot be filed again and, shortly afterwards, Baldwin left the court and avoided questions from reporters.
The Beetlejuice and To Rome With Love star faced up to 18 months in prison if he had been convicted.
