Rust Murder Trial Underway

Opening statements began on Thursday (February 22nd) in the involuntary manslaughter trial against Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. Prosecutors accused Gutierrez-Reed of “sloppy and incomplete” safety checks with regard to the gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

“We believe that it was the negligent acts and failures of the defendant, Ms. Gutierrez, that resulted in both the acts that contributed to Ms. Hutchins’s death and to the live rounds being brought onto the set,” prosecutor Jason J. Lewis said.

One of Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers, Jason Bowles, argued that she has become the “scapegoat” in the case. “What you’re seeing in this courtroom today is trying to blame it all on Hannah, the 24-year-old,” he said. “And why? Because she’s an easy target. She’s the least powerful person on that set.” He added that Alec Baldwin, the star of the film and one of the film’s producers, “really controlled the set.”

Baldwin has also been charged with involuntary manslaughter and is expected to go on trial this summer.