The gunsmith from the western film Rust is asking a judge to throw out her involuntary manslaughter conviction or order a new trial for the fatal shooting that occurred on the set.
Hannah Gutierrez’s defense attorney argues in a new court filing that her case should be reconsidered because prosecutors failed to share evidence that could have helped their case.
This was revealed last week during the film’s star’s separate trial. Alec Baldwinwho was holding the gun that went off on the New Mexico set in 2021 and killed the cinematographer. Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
Baldwin’s case was dismissed by the judge. after three days, based on testimony heard in court that police and prosecutors had withheld possible evidence from the defense.
Now, in a new court document filed on behalf of Gutierrez, who earlier this year was jailed for 18 months for her role in Hutchins’ death, defense attorney Jason Bowles argues that her case should be no different.
“The State’s intentional withholding of crucial evidence… has compromised the integrity of the entire judicial process,” the filing says.
Kari Morrissey, lead prosecutor in the Baldwin and Gutierrez cases, says her written response will be filed in court next week.
In his court filing, Bowles says Morrissey “lied to this court multiple times.”
Gutierrez already has an appeal pending in higher court over his involuntary manslaughter conviction.
How the Baldwin case failed
Alec Baldwin breaks down in court
The evidence that ended the case in Baldwin’s trial concerned ammunition that was brought to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office in March, more than two years after the shooting, by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins’ death.
Investigators deemed the ammunition unrelated and unimportant, the court heard, but Baldwin’s attorneys claimed they “buried” them and filed a motion to dismiss the case, which was successful.
After an extraordinary day in court, during which Morrissey appeared as a witness, the actor broke down in tears and hugged his lawyers as the judge handed down his sentence and dismissed the case.
Like Gutierrez, he faced up to 18 months in prison if convicted.
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During Gutierrez’s trial, prosecutors said she unknowingly brought live ammunition to the film set, where it was expressly prohibited, and failed to follow basic gun safety protocols.
She was acquitted at trial on charges of tampering with evidence.
It has not yet been determined with certainty how the live bullets arrived on the film set.
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