The gunwoman of the film "Rust" Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the manslaughter of the Ukrainian cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set in 2021.
This is reported by the Associated Press.
Last month, a court in the American state of New Mexico found Gutierrez-Reed guilty of involuntary manslaughter of Halyna Hutchins. Since then, the gunwoman has been held in the county jail on the outskirts of Santa Fe.
Jurors believe that Gutierrez-Reed unwittingly brought live ammunition to the set and loaded the gun with which actor Alec Baldwin, who is also accused of involuntary manslaughter of a female cameraman, was shot during a rehearsal. Baldwin has pleaded not guilty in Hutchinsʼ death. His trial is scheduled for July.
The prosecutor called Gutierrez-Reed "negligent and reckless" and said there were "constant, endless security lapses" on the set.
At the same time, Gutierrez-Reed claims that she is "not the monster" that people make her out to be, and tried to do everything possible for safety on the set, despite the lack of "sufficient amount of time, resources and personnel". Gutierrez-Reed plans to appeal the verdict.
The case of the death of Halyna Hutchins
A Ukrainian camerawoman died in October 2021 from a bullet fired from a pistol. At that moment, Alec Baldwin was training to get a gun before filming the movie "Rust". Prop weapons turned out to be loaded with live bullets.
In October 2022, Alec Baldwin reached a settlement with the family of Galina Hutchins, and the Santa Fe County Sheriffʼs Office closed its investigation. The case was referred to the local district attorney, Mary Carmack-Oltwiss, and the actor was formally charged with involuntary manslaughter.
In April of last year, Baldwin was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter charges against Halyna Hutchins due to "new facts" that became known to the investigation — it revealed that the gun with which Baldwin shot the camerawoman was modified. In January 2024, Baldwin was again accused of involuntary manslaughter of Halyna Hutchins. The results of the examination showed that the shot could only have happened when the trigger was pulled. The actor claimed that he did not do this.