Alec Baldwin 'Rust' Shooting Trial: Experts Warn About This Ominous Sign for Actor
Actor Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial in the fatal shooting on the set of the film “Rust” will begin in July. But if the 18-month manslaughter sentence given to the movie’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, on Monday is any indication, it’s not looking good for the “Beetlejuice” actor.
Before her sentencing, Reed had been found guilty by a jury of involuntary manslaughter for the fatal shooting incident that occurred when she loaded a prop gun with live ammunition, resulting in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the “Rust” movie set, according to ABC News.
Legal experts say Gutierrez Reed’s maximum sentence shows the New Mexico court is taking the shooting death very seriously, according to Fox News.
Reed’s conviction and harsh sentencing could negatively impact Baldwin’s case, as he was a producer on the low-budget Western and was holding the gun that killed Hutchins when it discharged.
The tragic incident occurred on Oct. 21, 2021, while Baldwin was rehearsing a cross-draw scene inside a church setting on the set of the Western film “Rust.” During this preparation, the Colt .45 revolver Baldwin was handling discharged a live round. The bullet struck and killed Hutchins, while also injuring the film’s director, Joel Souza, according to ABC News.
While handing down her judgment, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer commented on Reed’s lack of remorse.
“The word remorse [means] a deep regret, coming from a sense of guilt for past wrongs,” the judge said to Reed. “That’s not you.”
“I find that what you did constitutes a serious, violent offense,” the judge said. “You were the armorer — the one that stood between a safe weapon and a weapon that could kill someone. You alone turned a safe weapon into a lethal weapon. But for you, Ms. Hutchins would be alive. A husband would have his partner, and a little boy would have his mother,” she said.
🚨🚨 Breaking Rust movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for the killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter last month. Alex Baldwin pic.twitter.com/euHs6QzTIR
— MAGA Elvis 🇺🇸 (@BenStanton77) April 15, 2024
Baldwin faces two counts of involuntary manslaughter charges — one for negligent use of a firearm and an alternative charge of involuntary manslaughter without due caution or circumspection.
“This is bad news for Alec Baldwin and shows the court is taking this fatal shooting seriously and that it’s not just for show,” Los Angeles personal injury attorney Miguel Custodio said, according to Fox News Digital. “A plea deal would be the best strategy for him right now, considering [Monday’s] sentencing and the information the prosecution has about the chaos on the set and Baldwin’s failure to do anything about it.”
However, federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Fox News that “Baldwin is too polished and sophisticated to make those same mistakes,” adding that if convicted, he expects Baldwin to get less time than Reed.
In Reed’s sentencing, the prosecution and judge specifically cited her jailhouse phone calls making disparaging remarks about the jurors and complaining about the trial’s impact on her career as factors that demonstrated she was not taking responsibility for her role in the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the Rust set.
The August 2023 forensic report alleging Baldwin pulled the trigger of the gun, despite his repeated denials, may put him in a comparable position of appearing unremorseful or unwilling to accept responsibility, much like Reed’s stance that led to her maximum sentence.
Shortly after the incident, in an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, Baldwin said, “No, no, no, no, I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger. Never.”
However, the forensic report said, “Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver,” according to CBS News.
Video footage from the incident also showed Baldwin behaving recklessly with the gun in a manner that one expert witness described as “not normal nor accepted,” a fact that Baldwin has refused to acknowledge.
“Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me,” Baldwin told Stephanopoulos.
Additionally, Baldwin told Stephanopoulos that he felt no sense of guilt — a factor that directly contributed to the judge imposing the maximum sentence on Reed.
.@GStephanopoulos: “Do you feel guilt?”
Alec Baldwin: “No. Someone is responsible for what happened and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.”
NOW STREAMING on @Hulu: https://t.co/4iAWW86Kbw #BaldwinABC pic.twitter.com/F64P3aR9vB
— ABC News (@ABC) December 3, 2021
It remains to be seen what will happen in this case, but if the judge finds Baldwin’s version of events unconvincing or views his denials as a failure to take accountability, they could take a similarly dim view as Sommer did with Reed’s recorded comments.
This perceived lack of remorse could potentially influence a harsher sentencing for Baldwin, if convicted — and perhaps rightfully so.
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