Alec Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to felony involuntary charges in relation to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021 on the set of Rust movie. A bullet was fired by Baldwin and hit Hutchins and writer-director Joel Souza. Souza survived his injuries. But Hutchins did not. Baldwin has maintained that he did not know the weapon contained a live round.
Alec Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to felony involuntary charges in relation to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021 on the set of Rust movie. A bullet was fired by Baldwin and hit Hutchins and writer-director Joel Souza. Souza survived his injuries. But Hutchins did not. Baldwin has maintained that he did not know the weapon contained a live round.
Actor-producer Alec Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021 on the New Mexico set of Rust movie. On Thursday, District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer established conditions for his release, which permit Baldwin to interact with potential witnesses only to the extent necessary for the completion of Rust filming. Baldwin and armourer and weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were charged in January. In the October 21, 2021 incident, a bullet was fired by Baldwin on the Bonanza City, New Mexico set of the movie and hit Hutchins and writer-director Joel Souza. While Souza survived his injuries, Hutchins did not.
The judge said in a signed order (quoted by the Associated Press), “Defendant is permitted to have contact with potential witnesses only … in connection with completing the Rust movie and other related and unrelated business matters; provided, however, that defendant is not permitted to discuss the accident at issue.”
Earlier, firearm enhancement charges were dropped by prosecutors against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed, which carried a mandatory five-year prison sentence. The reason, as per the Santa Fe county district attorney spokesperson, was to avoid further legal distractions
Baldwin’s lawyer has previously stated that his client relied on the professionals who assured him that the gun did not have live rounds.
The tragic incident has ignited a debate over the handling of firearms on movie or TV show sets, the resulting dangers, and how to minimise them. There have been proposals by organisations involved in the film business to make sure such tragedies never happen in the future. Some have called for stricter regulations, while others have suggested banning live firearms on sets altogether.
Following the incident, the filming of the movie was suspended. It will now resume this year. Souza will return, while Bianca Cline will assume the cinematography duties. The film, which is a western, stars Baldwin, Travis Fimmel, Brady Noon, Frances Fisher, and Jensen Ackles.
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