Attorneys defending the actor Alec Baldwin from an involuntary manslaughter charge in the film-set killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins are urging a judge to stop prosecutors from seeking a five-year prison sentence, saying the law authorizing that punishment did not exist when the shooting occurred.

In court documents filed on Friday, lawyers for Baldwin contended that allowing New Mexico state prosecutors to charge the actor under a gun enhancement law would violate a clause in the US constitution that prohibits retroactively changing the legal consequences of actions.

“The prosecutors committed a basic legal error,” attorneys led by Luke Nikas wrote in documents first obtained by Variety and other outlets.

If Baldwin’s lawyers persuade the judge in the case, Mary Marlowe Sommer, to eliminate the gun enhancement law, the actor’s legal peril would lighten significantly. In the event of a conviction, he would face a maximum 18 months in prison.

Hutchins, 42, died on 21 October 2021, shortly after she was shot during rehearsals for a scene in the western film Rust, at a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe. Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when the gun discharged. The director, Joel Souza, was wounded.

Baldwin, known for roles in 30 Rock and The Hunt for Red October as well as Saturday Night Live impressions of Donald Trump, has maintained Hutchins died in a “tragic accident”. He has insisted he was told the gun was safe – and said that when he pointed the weapon he pulled back its hammer and released it, discharging it.

Authorities deemed the death an accident. But in late January, they filed charges of involuntary manslaughter against Baldwin and the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, arguing the killing resulted from negligence.
Prosecutors added a sentencing enhancement alleging the discharge of a firearm in the course of a felony, which would require anyone convicted to spend five years in prison. But the law cited did not take effect until May 2022, seven months after Hutchins’s death.

At the time Hutchins died, a three-year enhancement was in effect. That law required a gun to be “brandished” with the “intent to intimidate or injure a person”, lawyers for Baldwin said in the documents filed on Friday. Baldwin has never been accused of intending to hurt Hutchins.

A New Mexico criminal defense attorney, Caitlin Smith, first mentioned the firearms enhancement that was not in effect when Hutchins died on a legal affairs podcast, Serious Trouble. Smith told Variety prosecutors “probably shouldn’t” have sought the enhancement.

Asked about potential problems with the enhancement, a spokesperson for prosecutors said the matter was under internal review.

Baldwin’s legal team have made significant moves twice in recent days. On Tuesday, they filed a motion arguing that a special prosecutor appointed to the case, Andrea Reeb, should be disqualified because her position as a state legislator prohibits her under New Mexico law from holding any judicial authority.
On Thursday, Hutchins’ parents and sister sued Baldwin and others for damages. That suit is separate from one filed Hutchins’ husband and son, which Baldwin settled for an undisclosed sum.

Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed are set for arraignment in connection with the criminal charges on 24 February.

The film’s assistant director, David Halls, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor negligent use of a deadly weapon and agreed to spend six months on probation.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/10/rust-shooting-alec-baldwin-manslaughter