Embed from Getty Images
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the far-too-young armorer for indie film Rust, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter last month for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021. As the film’s armorer, Hannah’s job was to supervise the use of all prop weapons on set and instruct actors how to use them safely. Standard safety precautions include only using blanks, and always making sure the gun is not directed at any cast, crew, or animals. Instead, Hannah brought live rounds onto set, and provided star and producer Alec Baldwin a loaded gun that killed Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza, while in Baldwin’s hands (Baldwin maintains that he never fired the trigger). Given the facts, prosecutors asked that Hannah receive the maximum possible sentence of 18 months. At sentencing yesterday, the judge agreed:
No accountability, no responsibility: “I did not hear you take accountability in your allocution. You said you were sorry, but not (that) you were sorry for what you did,” Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said in announcing the sentence. “You alone turned a safe weapon into a lethal weapon,” the judge said. “But for you, Ms. Hutchins would be alive, a husband would have his partner, and a little boy would have his mother.” … Prosecutors had asked she be sentenced to the maximum prison time, citing a “complete and total failure to accept responsibility for her actions.” In contrast, the defense had asked she be released on probation, arguing she has no prior criminal history and has a “record of prior good works and positive things.” She has been in custody since her conviction. Her defense attorney Jason Bowles told CNN they plan to appeal.
Hannah read a statement in court: “First and foremost, my heart aches for Hutchins’ family and friends and colleagues as well and it has since the day this tragedy occurred,” she said. “Halyna has been and always will be an inspiration to me. I understand she was taken too soon and I pray that you all find peace.” She asked the judge to sentence her to probation. “Your honor, when I took on Rust I was young and I was naive, but I took my job as seriously as I knew how to. Despite not having proper time, resources and staffing, when things got tough I just did my best to handle it. The jury has found me in part at fault for this godawful tragedy, but that doesn’t make me a monster, that makes me human,” she said.
Pre-sentencing arguments from both sides: In a sentencing memo dated April 10, Gutierrez-Reed’s defense team requested she be released on probation with conditions set by the judge and undergo counseling and rehabilitative efforts. She feels “incredibly saddened and heart broken by what happened on that tragic day on the Rust set,” the memo said. In an April 12 court filing responding to the defense memo, prosecutors requested Gutierrez-Reed be sentenced to 18 months in prison, arguing she “continues to deny responsibility and blame others.” Prosecutors also cited jail calls in which Gutierrez-Reed allegedly complained “about the negative affects this incident has had on her life” and called the jurors derogatory names.
When we heard last month that Hannah was having a hard time in jail, I could understand objectively how the situation must be difficult for her, even if I agreed with the conviction. But between her statement and the prosecution’s account of her calls from jail… my reserves of empathy are dwindling. The judge was right, Hannah didn’t take any kind of responsibility. Though she claimed to have taken her job seriously, the actual words Hannah chose showed no hint of ownership for that job. If anything it was the opposite, with her argument essentially boiling down to “Don’t punish me because I didn’t mean to.” Then to think that while Hannah delivered her statement before the judge, that judge had already seen a filing on Hannah complaining “about the negative affects this incident has had on her life,” AND of her name calling the jurors?! I hope Hannah finds a way towards seeing herself honestly and, with help, learning and growing from this tragedy. Because she is human, that much she said was true. But that isn’t a ticket to writing off criminal behavior. Being human is a promise to do better; let’s hope she takes that job seriously.
As for Baldwin, he was also charged last year for involuntary manslaughter, his charges were dropped a few months later, and then he was indicted again this year. His trial is expected to begin in July, though his defense has filed a motion to have the indictment dismissed.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmcW5naH5ze9Guqq2Xkae6sL7Eq5ahmZ6jrqmrxq6rop2ip7K7edGenJ2Xl57Dprq%2BppixoZ2quqC%2FxKernqaTmqywsr5qb5iln6PBqb%2BO