[Chad C. Mulligan]

All politics aside, Baldwin was the producer. If incompetent people were hired, and if egregious violations of safety practices occurred, the buck stops with him. Would it be any different if another actor had fired the gun?

[Thud]

Yup. Baldwin has potential criminal liability as the movie's producer, though he doesn't as the shooter. The stories I've read about previous accidental gun shots on the set, one involving the same gun he killed someone with, make that very clear.

And I doubt any movie insurance company will ever deal with Baldwin as a producer again.

[lodi90]

Most likely Baldwin was being a cheapskate producer and did not want to pay for a more safe environment on set.