SANTA FE, NM — A jury is expected to hear opening statements Wednesday in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Alex Baldwin in the fatal murder of a cinematographer, a trial that will investigate the confluence of gun safety, high-powered celebrity and a low-budget western film set in a remote farm setting.
Prosecutors and defense lawyersselected 16 jurors – 11 women and five men – on Tuesday, composing a jury from a region with strong currents of gun ownership and security informed by hunting in the interior. Four of the jurors will be considered alternates, while the other 12 will deliberate as soon as they receive the case.
O shooting death of cinematographer Halyna HutchinsA 42-year-old rising star of his craft, nearly three years ago sent shockwaves through the film industry and led to a criminal charge against Baldwin that could result in up to 18 months in prison.
Baldwin pleaded not guilty when he returned to the desert Southwest for his trial at a courthouse in downtown Santa Fe, a short drive from the set of the “Rust” scenes.
Baldwin claimed the gun went off accidentally after he followed instructions to point it at Hutchins, who was behind the camera. Unaware it was loaded with a live bullet, he said he pulled the hammer – not the trigger – and fired.
Prosecutors say they will present evidence that Baldwin went off script and did not follow basic industry standards for firearms safety when he pointed the gun at Hutchins on October 21, 2021.
“Ultimately, the prosecutor’s main theory is that there was a gun involved, and Baldwin had a gun in his hand, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a movie set or a hunting safety class, you are responsible for the that goes off the deep end,” said John Day, a defense attorney and former Santa Fe prosecutor.
Balduíno Lawyer Alex Spiro investigated potential jurors on Tuesday to get strong opinions on gun safety and asked whether a person should take full responsibility for the fact that a gun is loaded or can “trust experts, does anyone have a problem with this?”
Most respondents said they always treat a gun as if it were loaded.
Baldwin, the star of “Beetlejuice”, “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “30 Rock” who has been a household name as an actor and public personality for more than three decades, also served as co-producer of “Rust,” which had an initial budget of around $7.5 million – a low figure by union standards. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled shortly before the trial that your producer status is not relevant for the case.
Workplace safety investigators and previous court testimony confirmed two misfires on set before the fatal shooting, while six crew members walked off the set the day before Hutchins’ death over concerns including accommodations and hotel security.
Marlowe Sommer has placed a summary of these findings off limits at the request of prosecutors, who describe this investigation as unreliable.
In the case file, defense lawyers highlighted that the gunsmith, Hannah Gutierrez-Reedwas already held responsible for the shooting, along with testimony that the gun was checked by an assistant director before being given to Baldwin – and that the shooting was incomprehensible and shocking to the entire film crew as they believed there was no live ammunition in the gun. Sep.
Gutierrez-Reed is serving an 18-month prison sentence while he appeals his March conviction on manslaughter charges. Prosecutors blamed her for allowing live bullets to reach the film set undetected, in a trial that also highlighted video of Baldwin rushing weapons supervisors to reload his revolver and waving the gun like a pointing stick.
Prosecutors have two alternative standards for proving the accusation. One of them is based on the negligent use of a firearm. The other is to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Baldwin acted with complete disregard or indifference for the safety of others.
Trial testimony will delve into deficiencies in a final safety check of the gun before Baldwin began rehearsing with it, as well as the mechanics of the gun and whether it could have fired without pulling the trigger. The live bullet that killed Hutchins also injured director Joel Souza.
Day says Baldwin’s insistence that he never pulled the trigger, first expressed in December 2021 interview with ABC newsrestricts defense options at trial.
“Like he said that to George Stephanopoulos, the defense has to try to show that, well, the gun will just go off if you look at it funny,” Day said. actor and tells him it’s safe, so he should believe them.’
Los Angeles civil defense attorney Mark Sedlander said it is unusual for an accidental workplace death to reach a criminal trial, but that the fatal “Rust” shooting addresses fundamental workplace safety issues.
“This is the case of a woman who was tragically killed while she was at work, away from her family, doing her job, just like Americans across the country, and one day she went to work and never came back,” Sedlander said. from the law firm Mancini Shenk.
Prosecutors initially dismissed a manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April 2023, saying they were told the gun may have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned.
A more recent analysis of the gun commissioned by prosecutors concluded that “the trigger had to be pulled or depressed enough to release the hammer fully cocked or retracted.”
Defense attorneys contend that the FBI’s destructive testing of the gun that broke off pieces of the firing mechanism may have destroyed evidence that could exonerate Baldwin.
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Dalton reported from Los Angeles.
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