Alec Baldwin and Hannah Reed were each charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. The first charge was involuntary manslaughter. The second charge was involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act.

The second charge has a special gun enhancement that added a five-year prison term. Which didn’t become law until May 18, 2022, seven months after the shooting took place. The U.S. Constitution prohibits retroactively charging defendants with new laws that didn’t exist at the time of the crime.

The Baldwin defense team filed a motion to dismiss the second charge on February 10, 2023. Special prosecutor Andrea Reeb filed a new legal complaint with only the first charge. Baldwin and Reed still face 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine.

NOTE: Check out the longer version of this blog post.