as you pull the hammer to the rear the trigger engages on it and when you pull the trigger it disengages, allowing the hammer to fall forward and igniting the cartridge. if the hammer is to the rear and he s pulling the hammer back and let s go of that hammer, that s the only way that gun could fire is if the trigger is already to the rear. if he decided not to just let go of the hammer but to have slowly put the hammer back, the gun would not have fired, is that right? correct, yes. if you gently allow the hammer to fall forward, it will not set off the cartridge. so, sarah, as a criminal defense attorney, i m wondering what you make of what alec baldwin was saying there he did not pull the trigger. i guess the question then, is he liable because he released the hammer as opposed to slowly bringing the hammer back to its original position? well, look, anderson, i m not
and not by us. what he said was i did not pull the trigger. we heard more of his explanation, he pulled back the hammer and did not pull the trigger. his finger was outside the trigger guard the entire time. knowing what you know about the single-action revolver that would be used in a western movie, does his explanation sounds credible to you? his perception may have been accurate. however on a single gun like this when you don t touch the trigger, if you pull the hammer back, it goes through various positions and each of which you can release it and none of which when you release it cause the fire to fall and set up around. if we want to fire the gun, i
mishandling the firearm. there s the civil aspect in which you could be civilly liable and that relates to money. and you re talking about how you handle the firearm. this gets out and you re going to be cross examined. you re going to do a deposition civilly and you will be asked questions under oath with respect to what you did and did not do. you already made statements as it relates to you handling that firearm. it s fair to say you didn t mention that you checked the firearm, is that right? you have an independent obligation to do that, don t you? you spoke about how you handled the gun and cocked the hammer back. and you know if you released it, it would put pressure on the gun such that it would go off. but that s what you did and you were pointing it at another. at the end of the day i think word is going to be parsed and it s not going to be you have a sheriff that s investigating this case, not only as to him but everybody else. what was ammunition doing in the gun? what wa
that gun could fire is if the trigger is already to the rear. if he decided not to just let go of the hammer but to have slowly put the hammer back, the gun would not have fired, is that right? correct, yes. if you gently allow the hammer to fall forward, it will not set off the cartridge. so, sarah, as a criminal defense attorney, i m wondering what you make of what alec baldwin was saying there he did not pull the trigger. i guess the question then, is he liable because he released the hammer as opposed to slowly bringing the hammer back to its original position? well, look, anderson, i m not a gun girl, but based on what scott s saying it really doesn t matter that he didn t pull the trigger because of the position of the trigger. so at the end of the day, it s about his mishandling of this gun, right? and his liability with respect to that. so we re looking at criminal
interview like this and then you sit for a deposition as well, those legal things where lawyers ask you questions and everything you say is in a transcript, and then, for example, they tell you you re under oath and you lie, and so it s perjury. so i understand from a public relations perspective you want to get out there and, you know, you want to tell your story. but from a legal perspective, i say not, in addition to what he actually said. what do you mean? he s talking about the manner in which he handled the gun, the fact that he cocked the trigger. he didn t say the trigger. he said he pulled the the hammer back. the hammer back, right? he said he didn t pull the tri trigger. i don t know that that s a statement that s sustainable. i intend to go to matt to talk about the hollywood story but i saw you shaking your head during the sound bite. are you saying he shouldn t have done this interview? absolutely not. i think there are damaging things that are stated in