Let me see if I can pull this back from the brink.
When one human kills another human, it is a homicide.
Not all homicides are criminal acts.
A state execution is not a crime. A death that occurs during legitimate self-defense may be a justifiable homicide. A death that occurs during an accident isn’t always manslaughter.
In the case at hand, there is no evidence of malice, so that rules out murder. That leaves manslaughter or some type of justifiable homicide.
If the perpetrator’s actions were grossly reckless, the resulting death could still be a manslaughter. When someone points a gun at someone else, pulls the trigger and the person is killed; it is generally not a defense to claim you didn’t know the gun was loaded. The action of pointing a gun at someone and pulling the trigger is likely to result in death or serious injury and is therefore not a defense.
HOWEVER, theatrical productions are different. Actors routinely point guns at other people and even fire blanks sometimes. So, an actor operating within that arena isn’t being reckless or showing a wanton disregard for the safety of others. It is one of the few places where pointing a gun at someone else may be acceptable. I previously linked a clip about the filming of a shootout scene in “The Matrix” to show a lot of gun handling on a set. They did it right and no one was hurt. Most of the time, theatrical productions get it right and no one is hurt.
From a criminal point of view, I don’t see a crime given the current facts in the case at hand.
That leaves a civil suit. The facts of this event involve mountains of civil liability. The failures that occurred on that set are obvious and abundant. It appears a loaded gun was on a set, was handed to an actor and the actor was told the gun was safe. At the very least I see a wrongful death civil suit. Baldwin may be able to escape liability as the actor who pulled the trigger, but I don’t think he will be able to escape liability in his role as producer. No amount of money will bring that person back, but I think a lot of money is going to change hands as a settlement, a judgement or maybe a little of both.
