Alec Baldwin will be charged with two counts of manslaughter in connection with the on-set death of Halyna Hutchins, the Santa Fe district attorney announced.
New Mexico 1st Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said Thursday that the arms supplier of Rust Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will also face two counts of manslaughter.
What is involuntary manslaughter?
The Santa Fe district attorney said Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will be “alternately charged” with two counts of manslaughter.
It means that a “jury will decide not only if they are guilty, but under what definition of manslaughter they are guilty,” the prosecutor said in a statement.
For the first charge of manslaughter to be proven, “there must be underlying negligence.”
The prosecutor added that it also “includes the misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a firearm, which would likely be merged as a matter of law.”
The second charge that the prosecutor cites is “involuntary manslaughter in the execution of a lawful act. This charge requires proof that there was more than simple negligence involved in a death.”
Carmack-Altwies said the second charge also includes a “firearm aggravation, or additional mandatory penalty, because a firearm was involved.”
According to the New Mexico Legal Group, an Albuquerque law firm, manslaughter “is the unintentional killing of a person while committing a misdemeanor.”
The firm’s website states that “involuntary manslaughter can also occur if a person performs a lawful act but inadvertently kills someone through negligence or failure to exercise due care.”
What is the expected sentence?
The prosecutor said in her statement that “under New Mexico law, manslaughter is a fourth degree felony and is punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine.”
The charge of involuntary manslaughter in the execution of a lawful act “is also a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a fine of up to $5,000,” the prosecutor stated.
“The aggravating circumstance of firearms makes the crime punishable by a mandatory five years in prison,” the statement mentioned.
Translation by Michelle Padilla
