Los Angeles: Hollywood star Actor Alec Baldwin, who was accused of involuntary manslaughter of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, pleaded not guilty to the charge. Court documents showed Baldwin, 65, entered his plea as he waived his right to an arraignment nearly two weeks after a grand jury indicted the actor on Jan. 19, reviving a criminal case that had been dismissed months earlier.
The Emmy-winning performer, who starred in the hit NBC television comedy ‘30 Rock,’ was allowed to remain free without posting bond under the arraignment waiver filed with the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe.
The first charge was dropped due to questions regarding the Colt .45 functionality after Alec claimed he never even pulled the trigger. As per Mirror.co.uk, during the original FBI investigation, the gun was broken, bringing the investigation to a further standstill after Alec's claim.
During the standstill, the gun was reconstructed. This then led experts Lucien and Michael Haag to determine that the gun's trigger would need to be pulled for it to go off. The report said: "This fatal incident was the consequence of the hammer being manually retract to its fully rearward and cocked position followed, at some point, by the pull or rearward depression of the trigger.”
It further mentioned: “Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.”
After he was charged earlier this month, Alec's attorneys, Lukas Nikas and Alex Spiro, told The Mirror: "We look forward to our day in court.” Additional documents obtained by TMZ show that Alec's attorneys responded quickly and stressed Alec's constitutional right to a speedy trial. The response showed that Alec would like to settle this issue quickly as it's been dragging on for years now.
The documents express a desire to "avoid the hazards of proving his innocence that often arise after a lengthy delay in prosecution.”
His legal team believes that the faster they can finish this the more they can "minimise public vilification and suspicion.” In a previously unreleased video, Alec is shown firing a prop gun filled with blanks on the set of the film. In the video, the 65-year-old said: "I don't want to shoot towards you." This video and others were recorded just days before Baldwin’s prop gun fired a live round of ammunition on set. The actor can be seen preparing for scenes, firing the guns, and acting in character.
(With IANS, PTI inputs)
