Is Alec Baldwin Guilty of Murder, Homicide, or Depraved Indifference?

By Rich Kozlovich

When I first saw Alec Baldwin in a movie it was Red October.  He played a quiet, intelligent, rational gentleman.  It shows what a good actor he is, because time has shown he's none of those things.  For years Baldwin has demonstrated an arrogance beyond the pale.  He's treated people with obnoxious disrespect, and he's continually displayed a violent, indifferent and self serving attitude toward others. That's who he is.  That's how he's acted.  That's what he does, because the little people don't count.  He's special!

Whether it's about Global Warming or defunding the police, the celebrity crowd all feel they don't have to play by the rules like the little people do, and there's a reason for that.  Normally, they don't!  They live in a "world of yes"!  They're catered to, pampered, surrounded by yes men sycophants and flunkies, and so many of them, so very often, treat others badly.  But there's a limit to that level of privilege.

On October 23, 2021 J.R. Dunn posted this piece on American Thinker, No, let's not be kind to Alec, saying:

There have been a number of suggestions, from the conservative press as much as elsewhere, that we should go easy on poor Alec Baldwin concerning the terrible “accident” that resulted in a “tragedy” at his New Mexico filming location.  

No, we should not. 

It was not an accident, and it is not a tragedy. There a four primary rules of firearms handling, codified many years ago by firearms expert Jeff Cooper. Everyone serious about firearms has long ago committed them to memory:

• Every gun is always loaded.
• Never put your finger on the trigger until you are about to shoot.
• Never aim at anything you are not willing to destroy.
• Be absolutely certain about what is behind your target.

These were rules Baldwin apparently ignored repeatedly.  Baldwin is an anti-gun advocate, one has to presume he's an expert on guns, or at the very least knowledgeable about guns.  Yet he ignored his own industry's standards by not having an "armorer or firearms master ...on scene to oversee use of firearms....".  

The author notes there had already been "two other firearms incidents reported the previous week".  As a result of safety issues the "professional film crew abandoned the production only hours before the shooting, and were replaced by clueless locals."

Conclusion?  One can only conclude this isn't a accident, it's a crime!  But the question is this:  Is this a crime of murder, homicide or depraved indifference?  Definition leads to clarity, so let's define this issue as defined in Wikipedia, here, here, here, and depraved indifference here. 

Homicide is an act of a human killing another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no intent to cause harm. Homicides can be divided into many overlapping legal categories:

• Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought.^.........
  
• Manslaughter is broken down into categories such as voluntary manslaughter, assisted suicide, involuntary manslaughter....
• Voluntary manslaughter most [commonly] occurs when a defendant is provoked to commit homicide. This is sometimes described as a crime of passion..........
• Involuntary manslaughter is the killing of a human being without intent of doing so, either expressed or implied. It is distinguished from voluntary manslaughter by the absence of intention. It is normally divided into two categories, constructive manslaughter and criminally negligent manslaughter, both of which involve criminal liability...........
  
• Constructive manslaughter is also referred to as "unlawful act" manslaughter. It is based on the doctrine of constructive malice, whereby the malicious intent inherent in the commission of a crime is considered to apply to the consequences of that crime...........Reckless driving or reckless handling of a potentially lethal weapon may result in a death that is deemed manslaughter...........
• Negligent homicide occurs where death results from serious negligence, or, in some jurisdictions, serious recklessness. A high degree of negligence is required to warrant criminal liability.............
• Criminally negligent manslaughter occurs where there is an omission to act when there is a duty to do so, or a failure to perform a duty owed, which leads to a death.............
• Depraved indifference is showing a total disregard for the value of human life, while they may not intend to do harm, their actions cause harm because they do not care if their actions will result in harm.............
•  A person recklessly engages in conduct which created a grave risk of death to another person  when he or she engages in conduct which creates a grave and unjustifiable risk that another person's death will occur, and when he or she is aware of and consciously disregards that risk, and when that grave and unjustifiable risk is of such nature and degree that disregard of it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation.
• Reckless conduct that results in death, however, is not enough to constitute this crime. And that is true no matter how grave or substantial the risk of death was. To constitute this crime, the evidence must also show that the defendant acted under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life. The fact that taking the life of another can itself, in a sense..........

It seems to me at least one of these definitions should apply to Baldwin in this case.  If that's true, and I certainly think it is, how can that lack of concern for the well being of others not be a reflection of his value of human life in the death of this young woman?  The author goes on to say:

 

Baldwin was co-producing the film, and therefore is directly responsible. So no – he should not be let slide. He should be chased from pillar to post, and if the facts fall out the way they seem to be doing, should be prosecuted. Anything less is a defiance of law and an act of disrespect for the victim. 

 

The media has portrayed Alec Baldwin as sick to his stomach over this, and initially as much as I dislike Baldwin, I could help but sympathize.  Until the story got structure.   

 

He may well be sick to his stomach, for reasons other than being sick at killing someone, even by accident.  He knows he's probably criminally and civilly liable.  But will he be charged?  Will he be sued?  As for the latter, I think we can be assured of that.  As for the former: As the reporter in Charlie Wilson's War said:  We'll see!