Alec Baldwin on trial over on-set Rust shooting death

The landmark involuntary manslaughter trial of Alec Baldwin, the Hollywood star who fatally shot a cinematographer while rehearsing on set, has begun.

The shooting of Halyna Hutchins in October 2021 on the set of "Rust" sent "shockwaves through the film industry", said The Independent. Baldwin, 66, is charged with one felony count, which could result in up to 18 months in prison. The "30 Rock" star has pleaded not guilty and faces trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico – just a "short drive from the movie-ranch setting" of the Western, which is scheduled for release later this year.

Hutchin's death was "Hollywood's first on-set shooting fatality in three decades" and "sparked calls to end the widespread use of real firearms on movie sets", said Reuters. The case is "remarkable" because there is "little or no precedent in US history for an actor to face criminal prosecution for an on-set shooting death".

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What we know so far

While rehearsing a shooting scene, the prop gun Baldwin was holding went off, with a bullet hitting Hutchins. The "rising cinematographer at the start of her career" later died from her wounds in hospital, said The Guardian. Director Joel Souza was also injured.

Baldwin, star and co-producer of the film, said in an ABC News interview two months later that he did not pull the trigger, claiming that the gun fired accidentally. Prosecutors call this claim "absurd".

Experts believe this account has "forced the actor into a much narrower defence, as he cannot allege that he did not remember what occurred", said the BBC. 

An FBI report tested Baldwin's claim, and found the gun's trigger "had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer". The actor was charged with involuntary manslaughter in January last year, but the case was dropped last April as prosecutors were convinced that the gun had been modified. This January, a grand jury reinstated charges after an independent firearms expert confirmed the FBI's original findings that the gun worked normally.

In March, a Santa Fe jury convicted Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the weapons supervisor who loaded the gun for Baldwin, of involuntary manslaughter. Gutierrez-Reed, who brought the live ammunition onto the set, showed an "astonishing lack of diligence", said prosecutor Kari Morrissey in his closing argument. "This was a game of Russian roulette every time an actor had a gun with dummies." Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced to the maximum 18 months in prison.

Last year the film's assistant director and safety coordinator, Dave Halls, reached a plea agreement on the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. 

What we can expect from the case

The case will "delve into the confluence of gun safety, high-wattage celebrity and a low-budget Western movie", said The Independent. The trial is taking place in New Mexico, a state with "strong currents of gun ownership and safety informed by back-country hunting". 

Two "major themes" will dominate, said The Guardian: the "chaotic atmosphere" on the set of "Rust" and the mechanical details of the revolver that Baldwin pointed at Hutchins.

Baldwin's team has already scored "a major victory" on the first theme. During a pre-trial hearing on Monday, the judge ruled that Baldwin's role as the film's co-producer was not relevant to the case. His status as producer had been "important to prosecutors' arguments that he contributed to the workplace environment that led to the shooting". The night before the shooting, six members of the camera crew quit because of safety concerns.

The defence will argue that it is not an actor's job to ensure real rounds are not in a gun, or to ensure safety of firearms on set, but rather the responsibility of the crew: Gutierrez-Reed and Halls. Baldwin's team will also argue that the FBI test on the gun in 2022 damaged it to the point of destruction of evidence. The actor's "best defence may be doubts his lawyers can sow about the workings of the pistol", said Reuters. 

Prosecutors have also depicted Baldwin as an "unsafe firearm handler, showing footage of him waving around weapons on set", said the BBC. Zac Sneesby, a crew member, will testify that he saw Baldwin pull the trigger, according to court filings. But the prosecutor's "main theory is that this was a gun involved, and Baldwin had a gun in his hand, and it doesn't matter if it's a film set or hunting safety class, you're responsible for what comes out of the end of the barrel", John Day, a New Mexico-based defence attorney and former prosecutor, told The Independent.

The trial is set to last nine days, and will be streamed and broadcast by several TV outlets in the US. Baldwin is not scheduled to testify – but that doesn't mean that he won't.