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Comment on Alec Baldwin's Rust Case Is Over, Prosecutor Drops Manslaughter Appeal

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Alec Baldwin is guilty of at least negligence with a firearm, although I’d go for manslaughter.

Being an actor doesn’t absolve you of all responsibility. Anyone else who accidentally kills someone else get charged with manslaughter. The fact that the public doesn’t see this obvious fact proves the stranglehold the rich have on American ideals. In any other professional job if I killed someone accidentally, whether it be with a gun, a car, or my own two hands, I would expect to atleast get tried for it.

That and Mr Baldwin straight up LIED about how it even happened. He told a story of the gun firing itself that several firearms experts, including the agency that was investigating, all said is impossible on the model of firearm he had. Yet everyone believes he shouldn’t be charged.

If you had nothing to worry about, you wouldn’t lie. He lied because he knows he didn’t do his job.

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TachyonTele@lemm.ee ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I realize you hate the actor for whatever reason, but the fact of the matter is in the article you won’t read.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case on the third day of the trial, after learning that the prosecution had failed to turn over key evidence — a cache of bullets — to the defense. The judge blasted Morrissey’s handling of the case, calling it “so near to bad faith as to show signs of scorching.”

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Allonzee@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Very much disagree. This was the responsibility of the firearms master and barring that the prop master.

As an actor on a professional set, it would be irresponsible to mess with a potentially dangerous prop in a way not indicated the individual in charge of it. It could be a specialized gun modified in such a way that trying to remove a round makes a specialized effect charge go off. Way to go Alec. Now we need to take a 2 hour break as the prop master fixes your fuck up when you were supposed to set off that smoke charge pulling the trigger.

It’s the actor’s job to get into the moment and act, there are other roles explicitly in charge of on set safety. Their prop master failed at their job.

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- Drivebyhaiku@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  “It isn’t an actor’s job”
  
  Yeah… But he wasn’t just an actor. Baldwin was a Producer. An actor and producer who ON THE DAY BEFORE HIS WEAPON WENT OFF had his stunt double have an accidental discharge of a weapon on set that fired a real ass bullet. I repeat. He had a complete dry run of the accident with his own fucking stunt double where nobody gor hurt because of complete chance after which he had crew approach him with extreme concerns over which a number resigned in protest. If he had been working on a union show they would have shut the whole thing down for a bloody week when the stunt double discharged that bullet but they didn’t… Because union shows and studios have chains of safety liability that are designed to stop productions cold when they are in danger of causing a death. This serves not just to protect workers but Producers because if something goes wrong they are liable. Studios generally employ Production Managers who in exchange for veto power over Producers decisions assume the liability for safety.
  
  Independent shows do not have those safety nets. If your Production manager comes to you and says “This has to stop” in an independent show that’s more of a suggestion then a firm veto. In this case, the Producers flagrantly ignored those warnings and said that they would continue as is. People generally don’t know what a Producer’s role is… Hell Producers sometimes do not realize their full list of responsibilities because a lot of the less fun parts get outsourced but tje fact is if you are paying to make a show you are an employer who is liable for the safety of your employees.
  
  In 2014 camera assist Sarah Jones was killed on a film set because Producers decided to okay a camera set up on train tracks for a shot. All but one was charged with manslaughter. The whole trial situation here missed the fucking point. They just as well told these rich independent nut jobs that they can get away with making shows under dangerous work conditions as long as they are popular.
  
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- dukeofdummies@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Ordinarily I would agree, but there are a few issues with that.
  
  For one, he’s not just an actor. He’s also credited as one of the 13 producers and co-producers. That producer hat does not disappear once the director yells action. That alone should open up a door for all 13 of these guys to get charges applied if they ignored warnings about safety. Not saying it’s an open and shut case, hell maybe he’s only producer in name for bragging rights and never attended a meeting, it’s a valid argument he can make. But I think it definitely opens the door.
  
  Secondly, the amount of star power he has does give him some power in this film. If people are complaining about safety and he’s domineering over people going “Shut up! I need filming done in 3 months so I can move to x film, give me the gun lets go”. He’s culpable in my eyes. He actively silenced and ignored concerns in that hypothetical and proceeded to roll the dice himself. Again no idea if that happened but it would absolutely open the door for charges.
  
  The fact that the case is being dropped suggests that maybe they thought they had a case in these two veins, but ultimately couldn’t make the argument to a reliable degree.
  
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  - corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Producer == investor. It’s the only way acting talent gets real pay.
    
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Plastic_Ramses@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
What is his job in this case?

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- grue@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Not shooting his coworkers, for starters.
  
  Also, IIRC he was the producer or something as well as an actor, so he was the firearms handler’s boss and ultimately in charge of everything including on-set safety to begin with.
  
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  - Plastic_Ramses@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    As an actor in the same movie hes not allowed to adjust weaponry on set or his whole production would be uninsurable.
    
    The weaponmaster is where the buck stops.
    
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    RedC@sh.itjust.works ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    As a producer in the same movie he also has a duty to make sure the weapon master knows what they’re doing. Again I’m not saying he’s the only one responsible, but to me the buck stops with the guy who pulled the trigger.
    
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- RedC@sh.itjust.works ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  What exactly do you mean? He’s an actor. My point is that that doesn’t absolve you of firearm safety
  
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  - Dkarma@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Yes but his point is that Baldwin wasn’t responsible for firearms safety on the set at all he was just an actor the armorer is the one who’s responsible. Just like the person who hires the Hitman is responsible for the death the person who is the armorer on the set is responsible for this person’s death.
    
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  - chunkystyles@sopuli.xyz ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Rule #1 of firearms safety is to not point a gun at anything you don’t want to shoot.
    
    How the fuck would that work in a movie, exactly?
    
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    yessikg@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Easy, by not using real guns
    
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    weew@lemmy.ca ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Lots and lots of cuts, lol
    
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