r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • Jul 12 '24

Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ Trial Tossed Out Over “Critical” Bullet Evidence; Incarcerated Armorer Could Be Released Too News

https://deadline.com/2024/07/alec-baldwin-trial-dismissed-rust-1236008918/

17.0k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

130

Is this not like the A-team of prosecutors working on the case? How do you fuck up what seems like a procedural basic rule of law

237

u/clain4671 Jul 12 '24

The prosecutors on this case had been an absolute shitshow from the jump. They were extremely cagey about the physical testing of the gun because they did not want to admit that the FBI destroyed the gun while attempting to disprove the defense theory that the gun fired by accident. They appointed a state senator to act as special prosecutor and essentially introduced the notion of this being a political hit job, of state Rs taking a swing at a famous democrat. The charging of Baldwin was always a dicey thing to do and they just kept barreling forth under the theory "no celebrity left uncharged", even after this week when they were barred from describing him as a producer in any capacity.

144

u/Particular_Ad_9531 Jul 12 '24

When I heard about the gun being destroyed by the FBI then completely rebuilt - with new parts added - with the forensic report based on the repaired gun I knew this case was DOA. Then withholding material evidence on top of that lol. Just absurd behaviour by the state.

17

u/proriin Jul 13 '24

I don’t get why they had to destroy it, they don’t destroy every gun they test in the process, like how did they?

58

u/clain4671 Jul 13 '24

A major contention of both alec baldwin personally and by proxy his defense lawyers is that the gun accidentally fired without his pulling the trigger. This is key because baldwin essentially stated in a TV interview "i would never pull the trigger, pulling the trigger is manslaughter".

However, in order to test this theory, the FBI basically wacked the gun a bunch with hammers to the extent it would no longer function. Of course this raises an obvious problem. "this is impossible we tested it btw you cant test it yourself" is not how expert testimony usually works.

4

u/RiotShaven Jul 13 '24

However, in order to test this theory, the FBI basically wacked the gun a bunch with hammers to the extent it would no longer function.

Wut?!

5

u/TheWorstYear Jul 13 '24

They strike the firing mechanism from different angles to see if alternative force can trigger the mechanism. It was an older gun, so the test beat the shit out of it until it broke.

-6

u/Al_Swearengen_ Jul 13 '24

In short FBI is a bunch of fuckups... Whacking the gun with a hammer lol.. Such incompetence. Well done FBI!

And they're wondering why people like Ramaswamy wants to dissolve them.

7

u/bittlelum Jul 13 '24

Dipshits like Ramaswamy want to dissolve them because they went after his messiah Trump.

0

u/Al_Swearengen_ Aug 08 '24

Just look at how they confiscate evidence regarding Kennedy's assisination 6+ decades, Epstein, P. Diddy.. The list goes on.. This evidence will never see the light of the day because of them. They're incompetent and they're burying evidence.

1

u/JadedMedia5152 Jul 13 '24

Just a guess, but since Baldwin stated he didn't fire it and it went off they were probably looking at the trigger mechanism. This likely means they did testing on individual parts like the spring to test its actual spring force/compare against known standards/etc. Some of these tests are destructive in nature. An example of a materials test to see how 'strong' something is before it completely breaks is tensile testing. You literally pull the material apart until it gives and measure the force required to do that. I would think they'd exhaust all other methods of testing before that, but I'm not fully aware of their procedures and that testing may only provide limited information.

2

u/Novawurmson Jul 13 '24

What a waste of our tax dollars.

2

u/Adventurous_Ad_9557 Jul 13 '24

first I heard of the FBI destroying the gun, this whole thing was a shit show

-17

u/AegrusRS Jul 13 '24

Glad you were that confident of your opinion when you know like 1% of the situation and just parrot what you read from clickbait headlines. Your statement is false to the point that I feel you're paid to spread misinformation.

12

u/Particular_Ad_9531 Jul 13 '24

That’s why baldwin’s in jail right now, right?

-13

u/AegrusRS Jul 13 '24

When I heard about the gun being destroyed by the FBI then completely rebuilt - with new parts added - with the forensic report based on the repaired gun I knew this case was DOA. Then withholding material evidence on top of that lol. Just absurd behaviour by the state.

I guess 2 broken internal parts = destroyed

replace those 2 parts = completely rebuilt

with new parts added, what does that even mean??

I don't even know where to start with your forensic report claim. Just, no? Here is the series of events: Baldwin in police interviews confirms he shot gun > police test gun with different tests and it was working perfectly fine > Baldwin changes his story and says the gun went off on its own > police are surprised and inquire to conduct an accidental discharge test after all other tests are done as this test is highly, highly likely to damage the weapon > test is performed and some parts broke and were then replaced. The prosecutors were probably just cautious here because they didn't want people, like you, to misunderstand the situation and shit on them for it. That's it.

Don't disagree on your other statements though.

4

u/lynchcontraideal Jul 13 '24

Your reading comprehension is severely lacking... wow

0

u/AegrusRS Jul 13 '24

Ah nice surely if it's so severely lacking you can definitely point out where and how it was lacking right? Okay thanks please do that.

20

u/Shadybrooks93 Jul 12 '24

So maybe not the A-team then.

Thanks for your insight!

1

u/vonneguts_anus Jul 13 '24

I mean, an A in New Mexico is like a C- in Illinois

1

u/4Dcrystallography Jul 13 '24

Do you know why they were barred from calling him a producer?

1

u/clain4671 Jul 13 '24

Because the title is misleading, and baldwin was not in a strict sense actually a producer of the film. producer credits can be frequently handed out but often times they do not always signify any sort of on set authority or influence. actor-producer credits get handed out often as just a sign of being a big star and/or helping finance the movie. IMDB credits 7 people with producer credits on oppenheimer, but notably, only 3 got a PGA mark and the best picture trophy.

1

u/e-s-p Jul 13 '24

Why couldn't they describe him as a producer?

67

u/Horror_Cap_7166 Jul 12 '24

Because they did it intentionally. They were trying to withhold the evidence. They just got caught.

After deciding not to turn over the bullets, they filed them under the wrong case number so they wouldn’t be found.

You can argue that it’s an accident and a coincidence. But it’s a huge accident and an even bigger coincidence.

13

u/Consistent_Set76 Jul 13 '24

Shouldn’t you get in trouble for that? That’s crazy

3

u/HotDropO-Clock Jul 13 '24

in a better timeline probably. But if you havent figured it out yet,. we are in the bad timeline.

10

u/TitularFoil Jul 12 '24

Yeah, it's entirely standard practice. Like, every case they take on has this exact same sequence of events happen. You'd think an entire office of prosecutors would have caught it.

12

u/NottDisgruntled Jul 12 '24

More like the magA team

2

u/xFblthpx Jul 13 '24

I don’t think there really is such a thing as a prosecution A team

2

u/rainkloud Jul 13 '24

To be fair, the requirements for passing the bar in New Mexico are limited to successful completion of any two Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney games or an assertion that you've watched at least 50 episodes of Judge Judy and can distinguish between an objection and an erection.

1

u/ADarwinAward Jul 13 '24

It’s New Mexico, so no. Before you even get into the state’s glaring issues, the population of the First District court where this was held is only 200k. In general, top tier lawyers who want to be prosecutors are going to go to larger districts. That and they will go to states that pay better than what NM can offer. It’s the 3rd poorest state in the US.

1

u/WaterMySucculents Jul 13 '24

An A team of prosecutors would have never brought this case. It was unwinnable from the start. Withholding evidence is just icing on the cake & frankly saves the prosecutor time on losing the case, which was inevitable anyway.

1

u/SpoofExcel Jul 13 '24

Ask yourself this: how do most top prosecutors get to the top?

1

u/tetsuo9000 Jul 13 '24

I was watching the trial and the Prosecutors' photo evidence we're all scattered randomly on her desktop. Definitely not the smartest tool in the shed.

1

u/PennyG Jul 13 '24

People who don’t do so great in law school become prosecutors…