The involuntary manslaughter trial of Alec Baldwin for the 2021 shooting of Halyna Hutchins during the filming of Rust is underway in a New Mexico courtroom as both sides put forward their opening statements.
According to The New York Times, prosecutor Erlinda O. Johnson began the case against Baldwin by showing the jury a photo of Hutchins and saying, “the evidence will show that someone who played make-believe with a real gun and violated the cardinal rules of firearm safety is the defendant, Alexander Baldwin.”
She then accused Baldwin of mishandling the gun by cocking the hammer and having his finger on the trigger at improper times and asserted that there was a time when Baldwin requested to be filmed “running around shooting his gun.”
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Johnson claimed that the prosecution has proof that the gun was “functioning normally” and there was nothing wrong with it.
One of the lawyers defending the actor, Alex Spiro, then told the jury that while Hutchins’ death was “an unspeakable tragedy… Alec Baldwin committed no crime.”
Spiro said Baldwin had been told his gun was “cold”, meaning there was nothing inside of it. “Cold guns can’t hurt people,” Spiro said.
Baldwin’s defense team has built their argument on the fact that regardless of Baldwin’s actions with the gun, he cannot be guilty as he was told the weapon was empty. Instead of Baldwin taking the fall, Spiro lays the blame on the film’s crew and armorer.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who worked as the armorer on Rust, has already been tried and sentenced to 18 months in prison for the part she played in the shooting.
Before taking a break for lunch, the prosecution showed the jury bodycam footage from the day the shooting took place. The footage showed life-saving measures performed by first responders on Hutchins. Baldwin was also seen in the footage.
In the courtroom the actor stared down at a notepad and away from the jury.
Spiro explained the actor’s reaction immediately after the gun went off to the jury. “He immediately says, I didn’t, I didn’t mean to shoot. I didn’t pull trigger. Immediately.”
“Shock turns to panic,” he added. “911 is called.”
The jury then heard the audio of the call.
The first witness for the prosecution to take the stand was Officer Nicholas LeFleur. LaFleur was at the scene, and interacted with Baldwin to determine he was the one holding the gun.
