Baldwin charges

[Cofisher]

So, Alec has been charged. Along with the armorer. A cluster from start to finish. I believe the charges against both are justified. Basic firearm safety ignored all along. Sad story.

[Bake]

My guess nothing will come of it. It's already been settled in civil court . . .

[fortyshooter]

No arrest??? Watch what happens to average Joe when he does same! Plus the DA said " prison time is not the goal" !

[clovishound]

From what I read the maximum sentence for this is 18 months. If convicted, neither of them will be able to legally handle a firearm again.

I am somewhat confused by the fact that they are charged with 2 counts of involuntary manslaughter. I assume that because one of them died that the injury to the second individual is considered manslaughter, even though that individual didn't die? I don't think attempted murder would be appropriate for the injured individual, since there was no intent to commit murder.

It's a little tough to talk about this without getting political.

[Shakey Jake]

I think Baldwin will be found "not guilty" or perhaps guilty of a lesser charge of negligence. Yes, he didn't use good judgement, but he was told it was a cold gun by two people on set...the armorer and the assistant director. Yes, he should have checked himself but he's an actor, not a firearms expert. I would not convict if on the jury. I would convict the armorer.
Jake

[North Country Gal]

I'm not inclined to cut Baldwin ANY slack on this, regardless of whether he is convicted and regardless of who else is at fault. Baldwin still violated the most important rules of safe gun handling that I was taught as a youngster when I first handled guns. It's not that hard or time consuming to teach an actor new to guns how to clear a gun, same as any other newbie and it's not like Baldwin hasn't been around guns on a movie set, anyway. Moreover, Baldwin did not have to point the gun directly at Hutchins to illustrate how he wanted that scene to go and, for sure, did not have to cock the gun and pull the trigger, either. Come on, guys, if you walked into a gun store and pointed a gun at someone and pulled the trigger, you be kicked out of the store, immediately.

I think the movie industry really needs to overhaul how guns are handled on sets. I'm not a hard ass by nature, but I have zero tolerance for unsafe gun handling. This tragedy could have been avoided with even a minimal adherence to proper gun safety.

[RanchRoper]

If it’s in my hand, I alone am responsible for it. Period.

Hope they throw away the key.

[BigAl52]

Its OJ's fault. If you have Money, fame or a politician you are exempt from laws. Whatever penalty is given out to him wont be severe enough in my book.

[Vaquero]

Involuntary manslaughter is the lightest thing he could be charge with. Not only did somebody die, someone else was injured. Only because he’s an arrogant liberal Hollywood untouchable pig did he not also get charged with aggravated assault, assault with a deadly weapon, reckless endangerment, etc or a whole host of other charges the rest of us would get heaped on us. Charging the armorers is making them scapegoats and proving it really wasn’t Baldwin’s fault.


RP

[Stray Cat]

Think of all of the pistols and rifles that John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, plus other lesser-known actors handled thought their carriers, never an incident like Alec's. Whatever his sentence becomes, he should never be allowed on or near a movie set again that involves firearms.

[markiver54]

If it’s in my hand, I alone am responsible for it. Period.

Hope they throw away the key.

EXACTLY!!!...The last one to handle the gun has the ultimate responsibility. Baldwin has proven to be a loose cannon in the past. A mother and wife are no longer with us.

[RanchRoper]

Involuntary manslaughter is the lightest thing he could be charge with. Not only did somebody die, someone else was injured. Only because he’s an arrogant liberal Hollywood untouchable pig did he not also get charged with aggravated assault, assault with a deadly weapon, reckless endangerment, etc or a whole host of other charges the rest of us would get heaped on us. Charging the armorers is making them scapegoats and proving it really wasn’t Baldwin’s fault.


RP

Don’t beat around the bush, tell us what you really think.

[Vaquero]

Involuntary manslaughter is the lightest thing he could be charge with. Not only did somebody die, someone else was injured. Only because he’s an arrogant liberal Hollywood untouchable pig did he not also get charged with aggravated assault, assault with a deadly weapon, reckless endangerment, etc or a whole host of other charges the rest of us would get heaped on us. Charging the armorers is making them scapegoats and proving it really wasn’t Baldwin’s fault.


RP

Don’t beat around the bush, tell us what you really think.

That's about all I can say and stay in the good graces of this forum.

RP

[Ratchet]

In case anyone missed this before,

[Mags]

... Basic firearm safety ignored all along. Sad story.

Agree. Alec has been in many movies where there were firearms used. He is no stranger to proper basic gun safety.

[Vaquero]

FB_IMG_1674257006673.jpg (45.35 KiB) Viewed 658 times

RP

[clovishound]

Well, I think the charging the armorer was appropriate as well. I don't know about who is more culpable, but it was her responsibility to ensure that the weapon was in a safe condition, and handled safely. There were some mitigating factors, such as she asked for and was denied the opportunity to provide training to those handling weapons on the set. She was also tasked with other duties that interfered with her duties as armorer. In the end, she was in charge of the safe handling of guns on set, and handed a loaded weapon to someone to be used. An experienced armorer was offered the job, earlier on, and turned it down because he was extremely uncomfortable with the situation he saw on the production. If the stories of people using the gun for target shooting on set were true then both the armorer and Baldwin, as a producer, had a responsibility to stop live ammo to be brought on set, and unauthorized individuals handling the gun.

Having said all that, this does not absolve Baldwin of his responsibility as the one holding the gun when the fatal incident occurred. In addition, lying about pulling the trigger only made things worse IMO.

[BrokenolMarine]

From all I've read, Baldwin's conduct before, during, and after the shooting pointed at his irresponsibility. He was only concerned about the cost of production on the set and was always trying to shave costs.

He refused to follow industry guidelines for the Safe Handling of weapons on set and the original more experienced teams quit.

He refused the Pre-shot safety briefings that were normally conducted on normal sets to save time (money). Both the initial introductory training and the daily pre-shot walk thru briefs meant to avoid accidents and injuries. He also refused the normal industry standard safety procedures. (Each and every person who handles each weapon checks it, every time.) If you checked it at the start of the shoot and take a break, and it leaves your custody, you check it again when you retrieve it, before you start working the set. Go to lunch, go get coffee, go to the bathroom, you follow the protocols.
But that takes time, and time is ... money.

He cut staffing to the bone to save... Money.

It will be interesting to see if his money and politics save him.

As far as the armorer goes, she made mistakes, but she also tried to follow protocols but was shot down time and again by ... someone. Money...
If she was to be charged, I don't think it should have been on the same level as he was, but then none of us have seen ALL the evidence the prosecutor has seen.