Two jurors in the recently dismissed Alec Baldwin Rust shooting trial are speaking out about their front-row seat to the highly publicized case.
Court documents obtained by the New York Times list Johanna Haag as juror No. 7 in Baldwin's case, and Gabriela Picayo as juror No. 9. In an interview with the outlet, the jurors expressed their doubts that Baldwin, 66, was guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.
"As the week went by, it just didn't, it didn't seem like a very strong case," Haag, who works in advertising and marketing, told the NYT.
She also recalled Baldwin looking "shocked and stunned and so sad" as prosecutors showed the jury video footage from the aftermath of the fatal shooting on the New Mexico movie set.
"It was clearly an accident, and the idea that there's anything purposeful, or the idea that there was this grave carelessness that caused this, didn't seem realistic to me," Haag said.
Picayo, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory with little knowledge of Baldwin's career, echoed that sentiment, telling The Times she wouldn't expect him to be knowledgeable on gun safety.
"Alec Baldwin is an actor, right?" she said. "I think he would have trusted the people, you know, on the set to do their job."
Haag also admitted she started to "feel sorry" for Baldwin when his defense attorney passionately questioned a crime scene technician about how live bullets could have made it onto the Rust set.
"It was like a Perry Mason moment," Ms. Haag said.
"At that point, I really started to feel sorry for Mr. Baldwin. I thought, you know, 'What's going on here? What is happening?'"
Baldwin's criminal charge was ultimately dropped on July 17 after his lawyers argued that the prosecution had buried evidence.
Although the trial was thrown out before the jury even had the chance to deliberate, Picayo said she was leaning towards no conviction.
"But I wasn't presented with all of the evidence, so I don't know what could have swayed me," she told The Times.
Balwin reacted to the trial being over in an Instagram post, which included a photo of him sitting in the courtroom.
"There are too many people who have supported me to thank just now," he captioned it. "To all of you, you will never know how much I appreciate your kindness toward my family."
The Beetlejuice star still faces civil charges for his role in Hutchins' death.
Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has already been convicted of involuntary manslaughter and is currently serving her 18-month prison sentence. After Baldwin's dismissal, Gutierrez-Reed's lawyer asked a judge to overturn her conviction.
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