Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
News

As Alec Baldwin court trial begins, what Jewish law says about charges against him

Alec Baldwin’s trial for “Rust” death begins in New Mexico this week. Armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted. Jewish law speaks to the case themes

Editor’s note: Alec Baldwin’s trial for involuntary manslaughter begins this week over a fatal shooting on the set of “Rust,” a Western movie. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer is presiding at a New Mexico courthouse. In light of the news, we’re resharing this article from January 2023.

Alec Baldwin was formally charged with involuntary manslaughter Tuesday in the 2021 death of Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer on the set of a movie he acted in and produced. Does Jewish law have anything to say about cases like his?

The Torah does include laws for manslaughter. But what may surprise you is that while the Talmud, which interprets the Torah, has hundreds of pages about financial compensation for injury, it seems to say reinforce that in cases of unintentional death, revenge against the killer is justifiable. Instead of banning retribution, the Torah provides an escape valve for those who would face it.

In Exodus and again in Numbers, God commands Israel to set up arei miklat, commonly translated as cities of refuge, where someone who commits manslaughter can flee. To ensure their safety, that person must stay in that city until the death of the nation’s kohen gadol, or high priest, when the statute of limitations expires and revenge is no longer permitted. God instructs the Israelites to build six arei miklat, and appoints the Levites to administer them.

This obviously can’t apply to Alec Baldwin. Israel hasn’t had a kohen gadol since the Second Temple was destroyed circa 70 C.E., and we don’t know where those ancient cities were. But the Talmud does address the accidental killer who doesn’t go to a sanctuary city, and raises questions of revenge. Who may or must avenge the crime? 

The Sages are split on this. Discussing the cities of refuge in the tractate of Makkot, Rabbi Yosei HaGelili says that it is a mitzvah to avenge one’s relative, and that even non-relatives are allowed (but not commanded) to take revenge on the fleeing perpetrator outside of the arei miklat. Rabbi Akiva says the relative may take revenge, but it is not a mitzvah — and no one else can do it for them.

And, leading us back to where we started, Rabbi Eliezer says even the relative must settle the matter in court. Which is where the Baldwin case is now heading.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.