Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies is going to use the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins on the “Rust” movie set to drag out her 15 minutes of fame, piping in with her ten cents on CNN and FOX News. Who knows, maybe she’ll write a book or cohost a podcast about celebrity crime?
Carmack-Altwies has declared that being a celebrity doesn’t entitle one to special and preferential treatment in this case. That’s fair. But special treatment isn’t always preferential treatment and, in this case, Carmack-Altwies doesn’t even seem to be hiding the fact that she intends to pull out all the stops, go the extra mile, spend the extra money, take more time, have more expert witnesses, bring in extra attorneys and show Alec Baldwin who’s in charge.
The DA requested over $600,000 from the state to bring these cases through trial. The governor approved half of her request. She says she’ll go to the Legislature for the rest. That might be easy for her to do since she appointed Rep. Andrea Reeb as special prosecutor for the case against Baldwin and the gun armorer. The N.M. Constitution states an elected Legislature – lawmaker like Reeb – cannot also work in the executive or judicial branch to have a separation of powers. Carmack-Altwies should have known better. …
The accident was serious and a tragedy, no doubt. It was also an accident. … Baldwin is not a danger to the public. He didn’t plan to take part in the terrible accident that happened. Just as he should not receive preferential treatment, he also should not be turned into an example or chased after with more resources, more expert witness testimony, more attorneys, more investigation and disregard for the state Constitution.
(Carmack-Altwies could have prosecuted) … about 15 homicides at the amount (she was) given for the “Rust” prosecution. … In a state that often lacks resources, struggles with terrible violent crime, gang violence, drug and gun trafficking, and where poverty and homelessness are all-too-familiar sights, I would prefer the DA use the money to prosecute violent offenders that are an actual public safety risk. …
