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Prosecutors say Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ trial shouldn’t have been thrown out: ‘The court misunderstood the testimony’

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO - JULY 11: Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey attends Alec Baldwin's manslaughter trial at First Judicial District Courthouse on July 11, 2024 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Baldwin is facing a single charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust". (Photo by Ramsay de Give-Pool/Getty Images) Alec Baldwin Appears In Court For Involuntary Manslaughter Trial

“The court misunderstood the testimony on July 12, 2024, and improperly dismissed the case against Mr. Baldwin,” New Mexico prosecutor Kari Morrissey wrote in court papers recently made public.

The filing was a response to Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer’s surprise ruling to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter charge and bar prosecutors from bringing a new trial against Balddwin, 66, on the grounds ammunition-related evidence had been withheld from Baldwin’s defense.

“Rust” rookie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 27, was convicted of the same charge earlier this year and sentenced by Sommer to the maximum term of 18 months behind bars.

Just days after Baldwin’s case was tossed, Gutierrez-Reed asked for a new trial, arguing there had been “egregious prosecutorial misconduct” and Sommer’s decision entitled her to a new trial.

But Morrissey argued against Gutierrez-Reed receiving a new trial, claiming Baldwin’s case never should have been dismissed in the first place.

And even if Sommer made the right call in the Baldwin case, Morrissey’s team didn’t yet have the ammunition evidence that led to the Baldwin dismissal at the time of Gutierrez-Reed’s trial — and therefore couldn’t be accused of withholding evidence in her case, Morrissey argued.

So the argument is like “comparing apples and oranges and trying to make a square peg fit in a round hole,” the prosecutor wrote.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed after a bullet fired from a gun the “30 Rock” actor had been rehearsing with on the set of the Western.

Baldwin has maintained it was an accident and a live round should never have been in the Colt .45 revolver he was using in the first place. His lawyers said the blame laid with Gutierrez-Reed, whose job it was to ensure weapons were safely used on set.

Prosecutors claimed both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed flouted industry safety rules and both shared a part in the tragedy.

Baldwin’s lawyers didn’t immediately return a request for comment Tuesday morning.

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