The actor’s lawyers had argued that a firearm law included by the prosecutors was not in effect at the time of the fatal shooting. It would have carried a mandatory five-year sentence.
The film’s star, Mr. Baldwin, and its armorer were accused of involuntary manslaughter after its cinematographer was slain by a gun on set that was loaded with a live round.
The manslaughter charges Alec Baldwin faces after a fatal on-set shooting revived questions about who’s responsible for gun safety on film productions. “We are not actual cowboys,” an actor noted.