Alec Baldwin repeatedly claimed that he didn’t pull the trigger on the prop gun when he accidentally shot camerawoman Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust.” He also couldn’t explain how real ammunition got to the film set. At least an answer to the second question now seems to have been found.
After more than two hours of deliberations, the jury in the US state of New Mexico reached its verdict on Wednesday against the western’s master of arms, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. She was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. In the closing argument, the public prosecutor’s office emphasized “constant, never-ending security deficiencies” on the film set. “Every time an actor had a gun in his hand, it was like playing Russian Roulette,” said prosecutor Kari Morrissey.
Alec Baldwin will also soon have to defend himself in court. The actor was first charged in January 2023, but the lawsuit was dropped after a few months. Investigators said further investigations and forensic analyzes were required. These are now complete, so that at the beginning of the year there was another indictment before a grand jury. If Baldwin were convicted, the actor could spend up to 18 months in prison. He pleaded not guilty.
Even though Baldwin wasn’t in court in the past few weeks, the young armorer was, his name was still mentioned there. Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers argued that he was the “big boss” on the film set. As a producer, he wanted to save money and pushed everyone else on set to hurry up. Gutierrez-Reed is a “scapegoat,” her lawyers argued.
In particular, testimony from an FBI weapons expert questioned Baldwin’s view of the matter. Bryce Ziegler of the FBI found it difficult to believe that Baldwin did not pull the trigger on the gun, as he described during questioning by Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyer. To get the gun to fire without pulling the trigger, Baldwin would have needed a hammer, Ziegler said. However, the weapon was intact when it was examined as evidence.
“We are glad that the justice system continues to ensure that everyone else responsible for Halyna’s death faces the legal consequences for their actions,” the family of the dead camerawoman said through their lawyer.
What: AFP
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