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Dramatic dismissal of the involuntary manslaughter case against actor Alec Stanley Baldwin based on suppressed evidence could see “Rust” film armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed freed from prison in Mexico, criminal experts say. Tell.
Hannah Gutierrez Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in prison in March for the fatal murder of cinematographer Halina Hutchins, who was shot alive with a prop gun held by Stanley Baldwin. Was. Preparing for a western film in 2021. He is interesting in his faith.
However, the Stanley Baldwin case erupted on Friday — just two days after the trial began — with a surprising and surprising twist. And a thrilling crime mystery.
The judgment passed on the dominant prosecutors did not properly present the evidence to the defense. The verdict was based on a motion to dismiss by the actor’s lawyers, who argued that the case did not match up with their finding that a man had brought to investigators a bundle of untested ammunition that was allegedly related to the case. Was connected to.
“Given the serious misconduct that led to Alec Baldwin’s case being dismissed, it is crystal clear that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s case should also be dismissed,” New York defense attorney Duncan Levin said via electronic mail.
“The integrity of the entire judicial process has been compromised by the deliberate concealment of crucial evidence by the State. “Justice demands that Hannah’s wrongful conviction be immediately overturned, ensuring that the legal system does not perpetuate this grave injustice.”
Shortly after the trial’s spectacular conclusion, Gutierrez Reed’s attorney said he planned to file a motion for her dismissal.
“I fully expect Hannah Gutierrez Reed to make the same arguments to overturn her conviction,” former federal prosecutor Nema Rahmani told CNN. “I think Alec Baldwin didn’t win this case so much as the prosecution lost it. , This evidence is even more exculpatory of Baldwin and more exculpatory of Gutierrez Reed.”
The evidence in question first came to light on Thursday. A crime scene technician testified that a man had delivered a box of ammunition to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office after Gutierrez Reed’s conviction. Troy Teske, a retired policeman and friend of Arsenal’s father, told investigators he believed the ammunition may be connected to the “Rust” case, according to testimony from crime scene technician Marisa Poppel.
However, Poppel informed the jury, the bullets were cataloged one by one from Stanley Baldwin’s case and were not included in the “rust” case stock or tested to see if they were Match the fatal phase.
Stanley Baldwin’s defense team argued that prosecutors suppressed this evidence.
His lawyers claimed in a motion that “unilaterally withheld” evidence could be favorable to his trial – a violation of the Brady Rule, later named the 1963 Brady v. Maryland case. Cornell Legislation College-compliant guidelines call on prosecutors to “disclose to the defense materials in the government’s possession, including exculpatory information.”
On Friday, the case collapsed: The judge sent the jury home early, presiding over a chaotic hearing lasting hours, in which the lead prosecutor transitioned from questioning observers to delivering the verdict on his own feet and observing a co-expert . Prosecutor impulsively surrenders, In any case, the verdict passed on Mary Marlow Somer dismissed the case with prejudice – meaning it cannot be tried once again. He called the concealment of evidence “deliberate and deliberate.”
Marlo Sommer said, “The jury has been sworn in, put in jeopardy, and the revelation comes so late in the trial that it undermines the defendant’s preparation for trial.” “There is no way for the court to correct this mistake.”
The “30 Rock” and “Hunt for Red October” star — who had pleaded not guilty and would have faced up to 18 months in prison — cried when the verdict was announced. As soon as he left the court, he hugged his wife Hilaria.
On October 21, 2021, Stanley Baldwin was working on a “cross draw” in the film – drawing a gun from a holster on the back side of his frame with his draw hand – with a prop gun when he A live round was fired, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Gutierrez Reed’s attorney, Jason Bowles, told CNN on Friday that he will seek freedom for his client.
“The judge found deliberate misconduct and we faced similar failures by the state in Hanna’s case. “We will move to dismiss Hanna’s case,” Bowles said.
Sommer was also the judge in the armourer’s trial.
CNN criminal analyst Joey Jackson said his verdict regarding the failure to disclose ammunition would add significant weight to the Gutierrez Reed case.
“I think what you’re going to see is a motion from his attorney indicating that he did not have this information when he was on trial,” Jackson said.
“Clearly, this was under the control of the prosecution. Apparently, this was brought to the attention of the prosecutor. And prosecutors don’t get to make unilateral decisions about whether something is relevant or important to the case. It is shared and then evaluated and analyzed.”
Rahmani said of Gutierrez Reed: “I am fully hopeful that either the trial court or the appellate court will overturn that conviction. It wouldn’t be just Alec Baldwin who is a free man. Hannah Gutierrez Reed will also be freed. And it’s really a tragedy for the victims in this case.
CNN’s John Campbell. Cheri Mossberg, Julia Vargas Jones, Jack Hannah and Eric Levenson contributed to this file.