Testimony continues Friday in Alec Baldwin's 'Rust' trial

By Mandalit del Barco and Clare Lombardo | NPR

Published July 11, 2024 at 9:12 AM PDT

A man with light-tone skin has gray hair. He has thick-framed glasses and wears a suit. There is a mic in front of him.

Testimony is underway in actor Alec Baldwin’s trial for involuntary manslaughter. He appeared in court on Wednesday in Santa Fe, supported by his wife, Hilaria, and multiple siblings.

Nearly three years ago, Baldwin was pointing a gun during a rehearsal on the set of the movie Rust. It went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding the film’s director, Joel Souza.

Attorneys on both sides presented their opening arguments to the jury on Wednesday.

The prosecution’s approach

Special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson argued that Baldwin flouted safety standards on set.

A woman with light-tone skin point her finger like a gun.

“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,” Johnson said.

She argued that Baldwin didn’t do a safety check of the Colt .45 before the fatal shooting during a rehearsal in a church scene for Rust.

The defense

Baldwin’s attorney, Alex Spiro, argued that others were responsible for letting a live round onto the film set and into the gun in the first place.

“Those people failed in their duties, but Alec Baldwin committed no crime,” he argued.

The film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, has already been convicted for involuntary manslaughter and is serving an 18-month sentence. She was responsible for weapons on set.

Spiro also played tape of a 911 call made from the set, in which Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell calls the shooting an accident. She also mentions the film’s first assistant director, calling him “responsible.” First assistant director Dave Halls previously took a plea deal and agreed to testify in upcoming trials related to the shooting, including Baldwin’s.

Testimony begins

Jurors heard testimony from multiple Santa Fe officers on the scene that day, along with a crime scene technician.

Catch up on Baldwin’s case so far

Baldwin was indicted earlier this year, after earlier charges against him were downgraded and later dropped.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the set of Rust in New Mexico, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year.
Halyna Hutchins’ widower, Matthew Hutchins, settled in court with Baldwin and other Rust producers. Hutchins became an executive producer on the Rust film, which continued production and wrapped up filming in Montana last year.
Halyna Hutchins’ death during a rehearsal for Rust re-opened a debate about whether or not real guns belong on movie sets at all, and drew renewed attention to broader challenges of on-set safety.