Prosecutors in Baldwin ‘Rust’ set shooting went too far

Alec Baldwin seems to have banked an early win in his involuntary manslaughter case. But this win is not indicative of the strength of his case as much as it reflects in justices built into the system that apparently, even a wealthy white actor couldn’t escape. Yeah, so many of us were all shocked at the close of January, beginning of February, when New Mexico prosecutors first charged Baldwin for that on-set fatal shooting of cinematographer Halina Hutchins back in October of 2021. Now that shock wasn’t so much because Baldwin was actually charged. And he was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, because well, he was the producer on the film. And also he was the one that fired the gun that killed Hutchins. Well, what seemed to really shock me was that prosecutors added a firearm enhancement on to the charge, carrying a mandatory five-year prison sentence.

Now, that five years otherwise would have hovered around 18 months. Now that enhancement on one of the charges seemed pretty extra, and it clearly was definitely extra. That would explain why prosecutors pulled that enhancement earlier this week. As Baldwin’s attorneys argued in court, the prosecutors should not have brought charges under that enhancement statute, because it didn’t even exist until January of 2022. Yeah, that was months after the shooting. So said another way, the enhancement wasn’t the law when Baldwin killed Hutchins, and also that enhancement, it was not retroactive, either. So basically, the prosecutors tried to apply a law to Baldwin despite knowing good and well that it did not and could not apply to him. That is shady. 

And of course the prosecutor’s office wouldn’t admit that they were trumping up charges on Baldwin, instead claiming that the enhancement charge was being dropped to avoid further litigious distractions by Baldwin and his attorneys, adding that the prosecution’s priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big city attorneys. Now I am no fan of Alec Baldwin and I do find it loathsome that he’s moving forward with filming “Rust.” Even so, I am a fan of justice. How often do prosecutors unnecessarily tack on charges to scare defendants? 

Overcharging is a well-known tactic used by prosecutors to leverage a plea bargain, or let’s call it what it is, to coerce a guilty plea. Throwing charges against a wall and seeing what sticks is an abuse of power that can really harm defendants, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds. You know, people who don’t have the resources to pay big-city attorneys to fight back, but are forced to rely on the already-strained public defender’s office. 

Overcharging only furthers mass incarceration, funneling more marginalized people into a system that hurts communities and hurts the innocent. Prosecutors are supposed to be the gatekeepers of the criminal justice system. When gatekeepers abuse their power, there can be no justice. Now fortunately for Baldwin, it’s more likely that justice will be done in his case, because he has the economic means to hire the best legal counsel who will advocate on his behalf and challenge ridiculous charges like this sentencing enhancement. But not everybody has those means. Actually, most of us don’t. We’re either relying on prosecutors to be ethical in their charging decisions, to not abuse the power that they have, not to make a statement or to garner media attention. 

Those New Mexico prosecutors, they know that the world is watching so why they would use this moment as an opportunity to sow further doubt in the criminal legal system is truly beyond me. But one thing I do know however, is that every defendant deserves better…even the wealthy white ones who can afford to fight back.