Hannah Gutierrez-Reed in court on March 6, 2024, the day she was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter (Law&Crime Network), Alec Baldwin reacts with shock upon learning of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins’ death (Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office)
Now that a New Mexico jury has convicted “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, even as the defendant’s attorneys called their client a “convenient fall person, a convenient scapegoat,” one question stands out among the rest: What does it all mean for actor Alec Baldwin? Legal experts believe that the Baldwin defense benefitted significantly from the trial and verdict.
Attorney and legal analyst Misty Marris rapidly reacted to the Gutierrez-Reed guilty verdict on CNN by saying it was a “very positive” development for Alec Baldwin’s case.
“This means that somebody has been held legally, criminally culpable for the death of Halyna Hutchins. He’s going to say that in his particular case it’s not foreseeable — foreseeability is the critical element here — it wasn’t foreseeable that the armorer — the person who is responsible for the safety, maintenance, and care of the firearm and the ammunition — it was not foreseeable that a real bullet would be in that gun,” Marris said.
Reached by Law&Crime for comment, Marris explained that the “win” for the prosecution in securing the armorer’s conviction on the strength of a “legal conclusion that she acted with reckless disregard” actually plays into the Baldwin defense’s hands, as it’s a “tough sell to say that her reckless disregard should have been foreseeable to Alec Baldwin.”
“The evidence presented in the Hannah Gutierrez-Reed trial really solidifies that point,” Marris said, referring to wounded “Rust” director Joel Souza’s testimony about arguing with doctors at the hospital when they informed him he was shot by a real bullet.
“I kept insisting, it’s just not possible it’s a live round. It just can’t,” Souza testified.
On this point, the Baldwin team might argue, then: if the director of the film didn’t foresee a live round as a possibility, why should the lead actor have foreseen it? Meanwhile, the prosecution might emphasize that Baldwin was not only the lead actor in the movie, but also a producer.
Marris highlighted a bit a “gold” that, in her view, the prosecution handed Baldwin’s defense during closing arguments in Gutierrez-Reed’s case by conceding it’s foreseeable for actors to go off-script or misuse a gun.
“The biggest issue for Alec Baldwin with respect to the handling of the gun is whether or not he pulled the trigger. He publicly and repeatedly said he did not. The FBI report prosecutors will use says gun couldn’t go off without trigger being pulled. That will be a factual issue that the jury will grapple with. What the prosecution gave Alec Baldwin in that closing is a solid argument that whether or not he pulled the trigger doesn’t matter, because it’s foreseeable actors will misuse and go off-script, that’s the armorers job to make sure the gun is safe,” she said. “It can’t both be a gross disregard for human life to pull the trigger and also be something everyone knows the actor will do.”
Marris predicted that prosecutors may focus more on the “production and management side” against Baldwin, potentially using an OSHA report that concluded “Rust demonstrated plain indifference to the safety of employees by ignoring recognized hazards inherent to the use of firearms and ammunition by failing to take appropriate corrective or investigative actions after two firearms-related incidents (misfires) occurred on October 16, 2021, and after employee(s) notified management that they did not feel safe with how weapons were being handled on set” — likely resulting in the preventable Oct. 21, 2021, death of Halyna Hutchins.
For former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani, the Baldwin defense has an advantage in combatting the case — and not just because they can point to Gutierrez-Reed’s conviction. The Baldwin defense just watched a “preview” of what the prosecution has to bring to the table and how they and the judge approached trial. That is a tactical advantage.
“Baldwin’s lawyers have a much stronger defense case than Gutierrez-Reed. They’ll be able to point to the empty chair at trial and argue that Gutierrez-Reed is a convicted felon and solely responsible for Hutchins’ death,” Rahmani told Law&Crime. “They have a preview of the evidence, including witness testimony and exhibits, that will come out at trial and can tailor their defense accordingly. Baldwin is more polished and will probably testify, unlike Gutierrez-Reed who had problematic admissions about drug and alcohol use, failing to check the gun, and caring more about her career than the deceased victim. And jurors love celebrities.”
“The prosecution is going to have to lean into the fact that Baldwin pulled the trigger despite denying it, and that he should have never pointed the gun at Hutchins even if he thought it was safe,” he added, referring to the FBI conclusion that the “Rust” firearm could not have fired without pulling the trigger.
In New Mexico, involuntary manslaughter is defined as “manslaughter committed in the commission of an unlawful act not amounting to felony, or in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death in an unlawful manner or without due caution and circumspection.” Baldwin is accused of two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Halyna Hutchins, one for the allegedly negligent use of a firearm and the other for acting without due caution or circumspection.
Hutchins’ parents and sister reacted through their attorneys Gloria Allred and John Carpenter to Gutierrez-Reed’s conviction by looking forward to the day that “everyone else who is responsible for Halyna’s death is required to face the legal consequences for their actions.”
“Halyna’s parents and her sister have always wanted everyone who is responsible for Halyna’s death to be held accountable,” the lawyers said. “Today was the first trial and conviction in the criminal justice process. We are satisfied that the jury, based on the evidence, found Hannah Gutierrez-Reed guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for her part in the taking of Halyna’s life.”
Baldwin’s trial is set to begin in July. Law&Crime reached out to a Baldwin attorney for comment.
