Alec Baldwin's trial for manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie Rust in October 2021 began today.
Baldwin is claiming the gun fired accidentally and that he didn't know it contained a live round. His attorney, Alex Spiro, said in his opening statement that when Baldwin, 66, was handed a gun by the armorer, he was told it was a "cold gun," which he explained means not only a gun with no live bullets, but no fake bullets either.
However, prosecutor Erlinda Johnson told jurors in her opening statement that Alec Baldwin's claim that he didn't pull the trigger was just "not possible" according to evidence.
The trial is expected to last 10 days and can be watched live on Court TV.
Baldwin is charged with involuntary manslaughter and if found guilty, faces up to 18 months in prison.
His new TLC reality show, The Baldwins, which features the lives of Baldwin, his wife Hilaria and their seven young children, has followed the family to Santa Fe, New Mexico. If Baldwin is found guilty and sent to prison, producers have stated that they will continue to follow Baldwin behind bars. ~Alexandra Heilbron
UPDATE: On the afternoon of Friday, July 12, 2024, due to the prosecution not providing evidence to the defense that a "good samaritan" had turned over a box of live ammunition to the Santa Fe County sheriff’s office that was said to possibly be linked to Hutchins' death, the case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning Baldwin can not be tried again in this case.
During the trial, they’re showing police video of Hanna Gutierrez, the 26-yr-old armorer, who is so upset she can barely talk as she shows them the cart that holds the guns and ammo. She keeps asking if the victims are going to be alright. Meanwhile, Alec is sitting down, smoking and chatting with another guy because he was asked to sit in the back of the police car but said no, because he wouldn’t be able to smoke in there. Hanna was sentenced to the max. If they hired a young inexperienced girl for a job she wasn’t qualified for, then Alec should also be sentenced to the max. Moments after the murder, he was calmly talking to one of the directors after the police told him not to talk to anyone.
Alex situation is a major one that affect movie making. If he is accused of manslaughter, no actor/actress will want to use a prop gun or weapon in movie making because of the risk that the prop goes wrong.
The only possible good thing ( if it is possible to even call it that ) to come from this is much more care will be taken in the future , worldwide , to avoid future deaths / injury. This was a tragedy that has affected the lives of many .
Guilty or not movies like this should have formal inspection of every single bullet used! Producers director of rust should have know better. In the rush to complete the movie rust..NEGLIGENCE OCCURRED. SOMEONE NOT ONLY BALDWIN SHOULD PAY FOR THIS CRIME OF NEGLIGENCE.. all involved in the making of this movie should be SCRUTINIZED . THANKS
Guns don't kill people. Alec Baldwin kills people.
Baldwin's arrogance & narcissism is stomach turning. It is NEVER someone else's job to make sure the gun is safe when you put it in your hands, point it at someone and pull the trigger. I'd like to see the book thrown at him so that he gets to the point of bankruptcy.
I'm glad he has a reality series, maybe now he'll be less inclined to verbally and emotionally abuse his children the way he did to the daughter of his first wife with cameras constantly rolling. And seven kids? Is this woman part rabbit? Do they not realize there's over 8 billion people on a planet that can't hold that many humans? If people don't stop procreating like this, there won't be any oxygen or food left.
Janice you're a hoot!! So funny about the rabbit woman!! When I found my biological father I also found that I had 11 half brothers & sisters and I always said that I could finally realize why there are so many Smith's in the world --- they breed like rabbits. I'm the one that came crawling out of the woodwork & made up "The Dirty Dozen". I can ditto your comment about Baldwin's abuse to his daughter. I clearly remember listening to him on the radio many yrs ago & he called her a little Pig --- to of course thousands of listeners and no doubt many of her friends and school peers as well. How hurtful!! I've always thought this man to be an insensitive moron.
If presented with a weapon it is your obligation to see to it that the weapon is unloaded. Guns do not just 'go off' five or six pounds of pressure must be applied to the trigger mechanism.
As much as I don't care for Alex, because of his abusive behavior, I don't believe that he is responsible for the prop gun killing someone. Its the responsibility of the the person in charge of the props to make sure the weapon or any prop used is safe to use during shooting the movie.
The first rule of firearm possession, loaded or not - never point it at anything you don't intend to shoot. The second rule - always verify the weapon's status, ie: is it loaded, is it safed, even if you are assured by someone else it is. If you don't check, you're responsible for whatever happens. It's too bad the case was thrown out. Alec Baldwin needs to be taken down a couple of notches.