The FBI: They for real or what? They broke the gun while they were testing it.
So, if the prosecution introduces a replica of the gun as evidence in the trial, how credible is it?
It is brought up at 1:18 of the video.
If the prosecution team and the judge know their jobs, the gun won't be the center of the trial evidence.
Unfortunately, guns have been demonized so often as evil killers on their own, people who know nothing about guns and gun safety will believe the gun is guilty -- not the person holding it. Scary and sad, but too likely.
The center of the trial should be the fact that Baldwin was holding the gun when it fired and killed a person.
Responsibility rests with the person in control of the weapon at the time.
Did he check if it was loaded?
If he saw it was loaded, did he check that all the rounds were the same (blanks)?
Did he accept the gun from someone other than the one person who's supposed to control the firearms? I understand someone on the set other than the armorer gave it to him. He could have asked the armorer to come check the firearm before accepting it. As a producer and major actor, he's fully aware of the procedures sets use to keep people safe.
He knew they were using real, functioning firearms as props. He knew the crew was taking shots for fun with live ammo on their breaks.
He knew never to put your finger on the trigger when pointing a gun at someone. That's according to his own words. So, why did he even point the gun at anyone in the first place -- regardless of what his trigger finger was doing?
Anyone with basic firearm training knows, if you break one safety rule, the others prevent injury. He broke 3 but he wants to argue he only broke 2 of them:
1. Never point the muzzle at anything (or anyone) you don't intend to destroy. -- stipulated he pointed it toward the camera and crew (obvious based on the outcome)
2. Always treat all guns as if they are loaded. -- stipulated he thought they were loaded with blanks, yet still treated it unsafely
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target and you have made the decision to shoot -- denies having his finger on the trigger
Sorry, but, unless the gun was able to fire from him just holding it, he's still guilty by virtue of failing to adhere to other rules.
At a minimum, it's negligent homicide.