Alec Baldwin shooting

[GSPHUNTER]

I still think it holds. We’ll see if he gets tried, much less convicted.

He maintains he did not pull the trigger. Firearms experts are saying there is no way for the gun to fire without pulling the trigger. First off, As you know a single action revolver has to have the hammer pulled back before it is ready to fire. so either he was handed the firearm already cocked ( bad Idea) or he cocked it then pulled the trigger, but he did pull the trigger.

 

[Jn78]

“We look forward to our day in court,” Mr. Baldwin’s lawyers, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, said in a statement on Friday.
—
What an arrogant thing to say.

Arrogant for sure, especially considering who said it - criminal defense attorney working for a celebrity.

 

[Jn78]

I just can’t see a liberal Santa Fe jury convicting him if gets on the stand, cries, says he didn’t think it was loaded, and he did what actors do - pull the trigger when the scene calls for pulling the trigger. Now, if he gets on the stand, acts irreverent, and says he didn’t pull the trigger, who knows what a jury might do.

 

[*zap*]

Book-em Dano.

 

[hereinaz]

Criminal jury convictions are hard won in many cases. Civil jury convictions are more easily won with a lower standard. A civil jury would award money easily. A criminal jury would have a harder time, because criminal liability is principally for those with the evil intent.

Gun accidents lack the intent.

It will be a battle of experts in part, and Baldwin will probably get a plea deal that represents the strength of the arguments, availability of evidence, and chance of trial. Besides the incredible amount of time and effort a trial like this would consume of the prosecution office resources.

Good criminal lawyers know how to test the State’s evidence, and prosecutors would rather have some justice over none.

He may walk again, but there is a good chance he takes a deal.

I agree that if you pick up a gun, you are and should be 100% responsible if someone is hurt or killed. If someone dies accidentally, somewhere you 100% failed to follow necessary rules. Criminal liability will usually attach in some way.

In this situation, there was likely no specific intent to cause the death.

The question is usually whether he was aware of the risk and acted grossly negligent or with reckless disregard.

Its hard to see how the jury would acquit except if they felt like he wasn’t aware of the risk of the discharge. The defense will likely focus on that portion. But, we are always left with the feeling that it was an accident and he isn’t a criminal with evil intent.

He probably knew the gun could kill (meaning he knew it was a real gun not a prop) so pointing it would seem to be enough to meet that he knew of the risk. But, that’s where the sticky part is, knowledge and intent.

I can see ways to argue this to a jury, and all a criminal defense attorney would have to do is convince one juror. It’s incredibly hard for some people to convict of a crime if they think it is a terrible accident and can’t find the immorality of the act. That is what I would argue and everything point to it just being a terrible accident, he is living with it, and no conviction would be necessary for rehabilitation, punishment to change his behavior, or justice “because he has already suffered enough and it will never happen again.”

I feel terrible for everyone touched by it, including Baldwin who probably has suffered from actually killing someone. Only true sociopaths are free from that type of feeling. I would follow the law and convict if appropriate, but I can see many people who couldn’t or wouldn’t do it.

There are crimes with strict liability, but discharging a firearm and causing death isn’t one of them. Even then juries won’t convict. The chance of acquittal is always there with a jury. It’s higher than most people think.

 

[Desk Jockey]

He maintains he did not pull the trigger. Firearms experts are saying there is no way for the gun to fire without pulling the trigger. First off, As you know a single action revolver has to have the hammer pulled back before it is ready to fire. so either he was handed the firearm already cocked ( bad Idea) or he cocked it then pulled the trigger, but he did pull the trigger.

I have gazed into my crystal ball. they charged him. Before this goes to trial some combo of the insurance, producer and Baldwin cough up enough money for the victims family and the other person who was injured For the prosecutor to declare victory and drop the case Against him.

 

[mtwarden]

^ They (Baldwin & producers) have already settled with the families via a civil suit. I personally think the prosecutors will continue full steam ahead. The armorer is scheduled to go trial in February. It's possible if she were to testify, there could be some incrementing evidence they could use against Baldwin.

I think the some of the most damning evidence is he didn't attend the mandatory firearms training and when they had an abbreviated training on set, he was on his phone (allegedly). He's not just an "actor" for this film, he's also a producer so passing the buck to the other producers is going to be hard to do.

 

[pacoalcracker]

I can't stand the guy, but I can't see him getting a criminal conviction and sentencing. It was a terrible accident for sure, and unless he is an evil bastard with no conscience whatsoever, he is suffering mentally and will until he is in a box himself. Certainly, there are multitudes of circumstances that could indicate negligence on the part of many people involved, but at the end of the day...it was a terrible accident that took the life of someone everyone on the set liked or loved...including Baldwin. Certainly, the family of this lady and the injured man deserve monetary compensation for the losses, but prison time isn't warranted to make the event even more painful to even more families. Remember, I can't stand this guy as an actor or a person.

 

[*zap*]

maybe he is not suffering mentally at all...I would think that is very possible.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Hell no he isn’t suffering.
Maybe a normal person but not this arrogant ass.

 

[Yoder]

I hate Baldwin. Having said that, I looked at the case two ways. If he was just an actor on set, I thought he should have had no responsibility for what happened. It's supposed to be pretend. Experts were supposed to make sure everything was safe and actors are not firearms experts. You can't expect them to check every round to make sure it's a blank. What if you were shooting Rambo 17 and he was shooting belt fed machine guns for an hour? It's not realistic.

Since he was the producer, it's his movie and people on set were target practicing with live ammo after the shoot some days, he's responsible.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Today the armorer was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. I'm thinking this means Baldwin walks.

 

[Geewhiz]

Today the armorer was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. I'm thinking this means Baldwin walks.

Interesting that its not the guy that pulled the trigger. But I guess that's how things work these days.

 

[*zap*]

Armorer is a woman.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Armorer is a woman.

Yes she is. Or if you prefer, a lady, or a girl, or a female. Or in her case screwed.

 

[*zap*]

the most she can be sentenced to is 18 months.....

 

[flathead#2]

2 Tiered Justice System.
She takes the fall.
He slimes his way out of it.

 

[ccoffey]

Saw some of the testimony from another armorer and some of the takes from the set. It did not look good on part of the armorer or Baldwin. Based on what I saw it looked like the situation was primed for something like this to happen. Lots of egos.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Saw some of the testimony from another armorer and some of the takes from the set. It did not look good on part of the armorer or Baldwin. Based on what I saw it looked like the situation was primed for something like this to happen. Lots of egos.

From what I read, he was hurrying things up, and people were concerned about what the consequences would be to confront him about it being a safety issue.

 

[Yoder]

I think this was the right outcome. She was directly responsible for the safety of all the actors on set. An actor is playing pretend with guns. Would Stallone be responsible if one of the 10k rounds fired in a Rambo movie killed someone? Actors shouldn't be responsible to check if the rounds are real or fake. Most wouldn't know the difference. As much as I hate Baldwin, I don't think he was responsible.