Convicted last April of manslaughter, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed demanded a new trial. A request rejected by the American justice system.
The armorer RustAlec Baldwin’s western whose filming was marred by the death of a member of the crew, will not be entitled to a new trial, according to a decision rendered Monday by an American court.
On the set of the film, in October 2021 in New Mexico, the actor brandished a weapon supposed to contain only blank bullets but which had fired a very real projectile. The shooting killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for weapons and ammunition on set. In April, she was sentenced to 18 months in prison for accidentally loading the actor’s pistol with a real bullet.
His defense demanded a new trial, arguing that the prosecution had not sent him certain documents, in particular a controversial batch of bullets. A request rejected by a New Mexico judge: the inclusion of these documents would not have “resulted in a different verdict” for the gunsmith, she said in her decision.
Alec Baldwin’s strategy
With this request, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s defense hoped to reproduce the strategy of Alec Baldwin’s lawyers. They obtained the spectacular annulment of the star’s trial in July, because the prosecution had not sent them this batch of bullets linked to the case.
This ammunition was believed to match the bullet that killed Halyna Hutchins. Enough to potentially explain how live bullets, absolutely prohibited on film sets, ended up on the set of Rust.
In the case of the actor, the judge considered that the prosecution was guilty of withholding evidence, and had criticized behavior “close to bad faith”, which violated the rights of the defense.
Inapplicable to the case of the armorer
But this reasoning does not apply to the gunsmith, according to the court. Because the bullets in question were handed over to the authorities by a former police officer, who is a friend of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s father, and had informed his lawyer of their existence.
These munitions “were available” to Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s defense “before and during the trial,” recalled the judge.
The gunsmith’s lawyers also argued that the prosecution had retained other important elements: an interview with the arms supplier of Rust and an additional expert report on the gun at the heart of the tragedy. But the judge also ruled that it would not have changed the verdict for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.
The gunsmith continues to appeal her conviction, citing other grounds in separate proceedings. For its part, the prosecution appealed the cancellation of Alec Baldwin’s trial.
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