Melissa Gilbert responded on Instagram after a New Mexico judge dismissed the criminal case against her husband, actor Timothy Busfield, posting a line from “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory”: “So shines a good deed in a weary world.” She also shared a link in her Instagram Stories to a New York Times report on the ruling, according to TheWrap.
The court decision matters more than the caption style. Judge Joseph Montano dismissed the case on procedural grounds, writing that the prosecuting attorney did not “act in a fair and impartial manner” during the grand jury process. In the ruling described by TheWrap, Montano said the grand jury was not properly instructed on the law for calling witnesses and was given a procedure that effectively withheld requested witnesses.
Busfield had pleaded not guilty in February to four felony counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor. The allegations concerned two 11-year-old boys and claimed inappropriate sexual contact while Busfield was working as a director and executive producer on “The Cleaning Lady” in October 2022 and September 2023. A warrant was issued on Jan. 9, and he surrendered to authorities on Jan. 13.
His attorney, Larry Stein, said after the dismissal that Busfield had maintained his innocence from the start and fought to prove it. The dismissal does not necessarily close the matter for good: TheWrap reported that the district attorney’s office still has time to begin new criminal proceedings.
Gilbert’s post is easy to read as loyalty made public, but the observable fact is narrower and cleaner than that. An actor whose marriage has been dragged into a criminal case chose a quotation about virtue after a ruling that turned on prosecutorial conduct, not a trial verdict. In celebrity terms, it is a familiar move: not a full statement, not silence either, just enough symbolism to tell supporters where she stands.
She had already made that position explicit in April, when she said on “Good Morning America” that she was “100% confident” Busfield would be exonerated and described him as honest and trustworthy. That earlier appearance did what spouses in public crises often do: turn private allegiance into part of the public record.
The awkward part, and the one an Instagram quote cannot smooth over, is that dismissal is not the same as a finding that the alleged conduct did not happen. It is a court saying the process failed badly enough that the case could not stand in its current form. Gilbert’s post speaks the language of vindication. The ruling, at least for now, speaks the language of procedure.
Alex de Valletta 
Sophia Borg 
Ryan C 
Harvey Jr.