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Update: Alec Baldwin case dismissed

Discussion in 'Too Hot for Swamp Gas' started by WarDamnGator, Jan 19, 2023.

  1. GatorJMDZ

    GatorJMDZ gatorjack VIP Member

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    I don't that's a fair hypothetical unless, of course, you were filming a movie about a parent shooting his child.

    This was a movie set and they were rehearsing...the normal rules of gun safety do not apply. Guns will be pointed at other people on set, that's a given. The guns will likely not be "empty." They will be loaded with either blanks or dummy rounds depending on the scene they are filming. The blanks will be easier to detect due to the lack of a projectile, but dummy rounds absolutely will not be. The purpose for using them is because they look realistic during close-ups, etc. Depending on how they're prepared, it might be very difficult to tell them apart from live rounds. You can't expect the actors on a set to be experts, that's part of the reason they hire an armorer.

    I don't this case will get to the jury, I don't think it survives a motion for judgement of acquittal.
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2024
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  2. cocodrilo

    cocodrilo GC Hall of Fame

    Apr 8, 2007
    I don't know anything about guns, but I've seen lots of Westerns. Baldwin claims he didn't pull the trigger. The prosecution says that's impossible. Well, how come I've seen guys in Westerns shoot multiple times by just hitting the hammer with their hand? Were they pulling the trigger too and I just couldn't see it? And if so, what's the point of hitting the hammer?
     
  3. ridgetop

    ridgetop GC Hall of Fame

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    That’s called fanning a gun
    A single action revolver ( what I believe Baldwin was using) absolutely requires a trigger to be pulled. When fanning a gun the trigger is pulled for the first shot and held back (not released) as the shooter fans the hammer back for the second and third shot
     
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  4. cocodrilo

    cocodrilo GC Hall of Fame

    Apr 8, 2007
    Okay, thanks. But I don't know why Baldwin would be using a revolver in that Western any different from those used in previous Westerns, that are fanned. Was there a Fanning brand or something?
     
  5. WarDamnGator

    WarDamnGator GC Hall of Fame

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    FWIW, the defense has a report that says the gun was malfunctioning and could have been fired without pulling the trigger, that is one of the reasons the charges were dropped, before they decided to charge him again.

    It could be a “paid for” report by the defense, and probably is, but from what I recall, the gun was so old and in such poor condition that it broke and became completely inoperable while the FBI was testing it, so they could not retest it.

    “Investigators effectively conducted an autopsy of the Colt .45 revolver and found that there were worn joints and that the trigger control was not functioning properly, according to the source.

    It became evident to prosecutors the gun could fire without pressure on the trigger, according to the source.”


    Take it for what it’s worth, which is probably a hefty expert witness fee for the defense….

    Gun in fatal on-set 'Rust' shooting was mechanically improper, source says

    Here is the part about the FBI testing….

    "The gun fired in testing only one time -- without having to pull the trigger -- when the hammer was pulled back and the gun broke in two different places," the attorney, Luke Nikas, said. "The FBI was unable to fire the gun in any prior test, even when pulling the trigger, because it was in such poor condition."
     
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  6. citygator

    citygator VIP Member

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    If your daughter was handed a gun on set as a prop for a scene and it shot Alec Baldwin because the armory specialist didn’t do her job….should she go to jail?
     
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  7. Bazza

    Bazza Moderator

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    Appreciate the responses.

    But no one answered my question(s).

    Yes or no.....would you have pointed a gun at your daughter without making sure yourself it was safe to do so?
     
  8. gatordavisl

    gatordavisl VIP Member

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    She would tell you the nature of your question.
     
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  9. WarDamnGator

    WarDamnGator GC Hall of Fame

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    Why does it matter what I would do? The case won't hinge on what WarDamnGator said he would have done on the internet. We can all monday morning QB the situation and say we definitely would have second guessed the gun prop professionals and discovered their error, but how many Hollywood actors do you think can really tell the difference between a real bullet and an inert bullet meant to look just like a real bullet for close ups? It's simple, don't bring any live rounds to a movie set. They have no business being there. That person is responsible. That person has basically admitted they were responsible for bringing the live rounds to the set, because she sued her supplier for supposedly mixing live and dummy rounds in the same box.
     
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  10. GatorJMDZ

    GatorJMDZ gatorjack VIP Member

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    No.

    1. Assuming I'm not working on a movie set with my child also acting, as a responsible gun owner I would never point a firearm at my child...period.
    2. My response has nothing to do with Baldwin's situation.
     
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  11. danmanne65

    danmanne65 GC Hall of Fame

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    The armorer is primarily responsible. The biggest crime was by her in allowing a loaded gun into the hand of an actor. Alec Baldwin produced this movie and he did it on the cheap. His culpability would fall on was he criminally negligent as the producer for hiring an unqualified armorer. There are reports that they were filming this in the middle of nowhere does the producer have any culpability for not knowing the armorer was allowing guns for the movie being played with by the crew after shooting was over.
     
  12. ridgetop

    ridgetop GC Hall of Fame

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    To be clear I’m not arguing about he case… jus tin general sa pistols require he trigger to be pulled. If it was broken or malfunctioning I have no idea.
    I was just answering the question about fanning a gun.
     
  13. cocodrilo

    cocodrilo GC Hall of Fame

    Apr 8, 2007
    I saw it reported that the judge will not allow the fact that Baldwin was a producer of the film to be presented to the jury.
     
  14. danmanne65

    danmanne65 GC Hall of Fame

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    So then I don’t see how he could even be charged if that is true. Not doubting you doubting the report.
     
  15. Gatorhead

    Gatorhead GC Hall of Fame

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    Absolutely not. And I'm beginning
    to wonder if Alex had a habit of using props, like guns, to intimidate actors and staff. If that proves to be the case, I hope he gets time.
     
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  16. GatorJMDZ

    GatorJMDZ gatorjack VIP Member

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    Judge sent the jurors home while they discuss potential dismissal of the charges.....a "little" issue with prosecutorial misconduct/discovery violations.

    "SANTA FE, New Mexico (Reuters) - A New Mexico judge sent home jurors in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Alec Baldwin on Friday in a surprise move after lawyers for the actor sought dismissal of charges alleging police hid evidence of the source of the live round that killed "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.

    On the third day of Baldwin's trial, the actor's lawyers said the Santa Fe sheriff's office took possession of live rounds as evidence in the case but failed to list them in the "Rust" investigation file or disclose their existence to defense lawyers.

    "This was hidden from us," Baldwin's lawyer Alex Spiro told a sheriff's office crime scene technician under cross examination out of jurors' hearing."

    Judge sends jury home after Alec Baldwin seeks dismissal of charge
     
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  17. WarDamnGator

    WarDamnGator GC Hall of Fame

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  18. Gator40

    Gator40 Avada Kedavra

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    You'll be happy to know that the charges against Alec were dismissed with prejudice based on misconduct from state investigators.
     
  19. GolphinGator

    GolphinGator GC Hall of Fame

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    I don't know of any reason to have a primer in a dummy round. Unless they are filming loose ammo there is not way to tell if there are primers in ammo loaded in a revolver or any other type gun.
     
  20. Gator40

    Gator40 Avada Kedavra

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