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A major bombshell dropped during a recent proceeding in the New Mexicomanslaughter caseagainstAlec Baldwinover theRustshooting tragedy.
He has also maintained that he did not pull the trigger.
The alleged destruction of the literal smoking gun is a huge deal for both the prosecution and the defense.
If the gun is MIA, Baldwins defense cant do that.
Prosecutors handling the case have pushed back on Spiros claim.
They say that theydohave the gun and that it can be examined.
The gun is in evidence and is available for the defense to review.
However, the gun still exists and can be used as evidence.
How could a damaged or destroyed gun impact Baldwins defense?
Could prosecutors get into hot water if the gun has been damaged or destroyed?
The first possibility is the evidence was intentionally destroyed.
They knew they had to preserve it, but they destroyed it.
The court could dismiss the indictment outright.
The other possibility is that it was destroyed negligently.
Loosely, the most common remedy for negligent destruction of evidence is an adverse jury instruction.
Ultimately, he said, prosecutors are responsible for making sure the gun was preserved.
So did the prosecution mess up with its handling of the gun?
Ultimately, the prosecution has to prove it made an effort to prevent something like that from happening.
In Baldwins case, the FBI had the evidence in question.
Is giving the evidence to the FBI to examine reasonable?
It is, but the prosecution is responsible for the FBI carelessness.
Theyre in privity with each other, just as if they had sent it to any other lab.
Kuby added that he would be astonished if the gun had been destroyed outright.
The question is rather how much damage it suffered.
Is that damage serious enough to prevent a defense expert from examining the firearm?
The answer is probably not.
The firearm in question, its not that complicated a gear.
Its a small number of moving pieces, and those are fairly simple.
Interviews have been edited lightly for length and clarity.
