Alec Baldwin has been handed a major legal victory after a New Mexico district attorney dropped gun enhancement charges over the fatal shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

The removal of the charge came after Baldwin’s attorneys blasted a decision to slap the enhancement charge on the embattled actor because the law had been passed after the October 2021 shooting.

It means Baldwin now faces a maximum sentence of 18 months prison if found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, rather than a five year minimum under the enhancement charge.

Mr Baldwin’s attorneys had last week accused prosecutors of committed a “basic legal error” by charging him under a version of the firearm-enhancement statute that did not exist at the time of the fatal shooting.

Under New Mexico law, the enhancement charge could only apply to Hutchins’ fatal shooting if the gun was “brandished” with intent to intimidate or injure a person.

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