On Tuesday, prosecutors in New Mexico announced their plan to prosecute actor Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 2021 shooting death of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. A grand jury will hear Baldwin's case in the middle of November, according to special prosecutor Kari Morrissey. The action was taken in response to the findings of an independent forensic examination, which revealed that Baldwin needed to squeeze the trigger of a practice revolver in order for it to discharge the live cartridge that killed Hutchins and critically injured director Joel Souza.

Baldwin has stated that he did not fire the shot and is not accountable for Hutchins' demise.

"It is regrettable that this misdirected prosecution has resulted from a horrible incident. Baldwin's attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro released a statement saying, "We will address any accusations in court. In January, the actor from "30 Rock" and Hannah Gutierrez, who is the main weapons handler in the film, were first accused of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Hutchins' passing. Gutierrez is scheduled for trial in 2024. Baldwin had a setback with the grand jury, as in April, prosecutors dropped their charges against him due to fresh evidence that suggested the gun he was using had been altered to fire without the need to pull the trigger.

Morrissey promised to recharge Baldwin if more testing of the pistol revealed it was functional. Legal experts argue that grand juries are frequently used by prosecutors because they are a simpler way to establish probable cause and go on with a trial than submitting a criminal complaint that can be questioned by defense attorneys during a preliminary hearing.