Well, yes.
Did Baldwin kill one and injure another, with a loaded gun?
He most certainly did.
Did he intend to kill and injure?
I would say he probably did not.
Check the weapon, it’s your responsibility. It’s that simple.
That has not been an industry standard in the last 50 years. In fact, actors are supposed to be forbidden to manipulate firearms in any manner other than called for in the script or by the Director.
Does that override the laws of the State of New Mexico? Certainly not. Should the state even take those industry standards into consideration? Those are reasonable questions. And the dancing answer is: "Maybe".
Or we could just forget about making action movies that use firearms.
Frankly, most actors are not competent to even check or clear a firearm. They are dependent on a system of other people checking those things to keep them safe during filming. That system works quite well.
Baldwin in his role as Producer was distinctly negligent in allowing safety standards to be ignored. That is your gateway into a charge of criminal negligent homicide, or whatever the equivalent is in New Mexico.
The District Attorney office for this case is staffed by complete morons.
I wholeheartedly agree with that summation.
With today’s camera technology, staging, and editing “tricks”, there is no reason to use an actual functioning firearm in any scene. There is also no reason to aim a functioning firearm directly at another human, the viewing public won’t notice if it’s not aimed at center mass.
In my opinion, if a functioning firearm is used in any scene, even the most illiterate actors must be trained in the use of the weapon.
This may have prevented the entire situation we’re referring to.
Thank you for the well-reasoned responses and discussion!