By Aliya Couillard, Staff Writer
Actor Alec Baldwin is being charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for his role in the death of Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on Oct. 21, 2021.
During an unscheduled rehearsal on the set of the movie “Rust,” Hutchins instructed Baldwin to aim the prop gun he was holding at the camera. While Baldwin was doing so, the gun independently, according to him, fired, killing Hutchins and injuring Film Director Joel Souza.
Before any of this occurred, the gun was checked by the props assistant and Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. She examined the gun, which held what she believed to be fake bullets that contained no live ammunition. She was also charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
After examining the gun, Gutierrez-Reed handed it over to Assistant Director and Production Safety Coordinator David Hall. She claims that she intended to check the gun again, as safety protocols call for, however, Hall never called her back to check it before they began their unscheduled rehearsal. Hall pleaded guilty to negligence in order to not face trial.
Sophomore nursing major Nozila Djavvarova expressed her thoughts on what she views as the unjust nature of the charges.
“I don’t think [the charges] are fair because he didn’t know and he was under the assumption that it wasn’t loaded,” Djavvarova said.
Other students find themselves to be conflicted due to the complexity of the case.
“I think it’s a complicated case,” sophomore data analytics and finance major Christian Gonzalez said. “There was no way of him knowing that he would kill someone, even if he did pull the trigger, he had no idea there were actually bullets in there. He thought that everyone had done their job right.”
Involuntary manslaughter is defined as an unintentional killing that results either from recklessness or criminal negligence, and Gonzalez believes that no one is above the law.
“I guess yes. He would be guilty because it was involuntary,” he stated.
Hutchins’ family filed a lawsuit against Baldwin, which has since been settled, for unsafely handling a weapon.
Freshman accounting major Marcello Passante does not necessarily agree with the lawsuit.
“I mean yes, [they were right in filing] because he did commit it, but I can’t really see how valid it could be because he was set up. Nothing is supposed to come out of a prop gun when you shoot it,” he said.
Djavvarova puts herself in the shoes of Hutchins’ family, but also has similar opinions to Passante.
“It was right on their part. I think if I was the family I would also do that as well, but I do think that it’s wrong he’s in trouble because he didn’t know that [the gun] was loaded and thought it was a prop, so I feel like it wasn’t justifiable,” she said.
However, students did agree with the charges placed on Gutierrez-Reed.
“She said the bullets were blanks and they weren’t blanks so yes, I also believe that she is guilty,” Gonzalez said, but not without mentioning Hall’s negligence for not calling Gutierrez-Reed back to examine the prop.
Passante shares similar opinions, but also theorizes a bit.
“It could have been swapped out potentially. If she did check it and didn’t thoroughly examine it then 100 percent she deserves it, but it really depends on what actually happened,” he expressed.
One of the questions that has yet to be answered is how did real ammunition get on a film set.
“I feel like they should look into it more before they charge,” Gonzalez commented about this unanswered question. “Someone needs to go to jail, but not someone who did it by accident.”
Passante feels that whoever let live ammunition on set should be charged.
“If that didn’t happen, then nothing else would have happened,” he explained.
There are some big holes in this case and further investigation may be necessary.
The charges brought against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed hold a potential prison sentence of between 18 months and five years.
Be First to Comment