Rust Shooting Follow-up (1 Viewer)

[Steve R.]

Alec Baldwin's Rust shooting saga first appeared in the thread: Trump Indictment, as an off-topic discussion. Since the Rust story is not part of the Trump Indictment, this is a fork of that thread. Basically, the charges against Baldwin were surprisingly dropped. I have not been following this story, but it appears that Gutierrez Reed, the Rust armorer, is now being charged, This smells of a prosecution looking for a scrape-goat to take the fall. This is not to say that Reed was innocent, since there is room that she was apparently not qualified to do her job. The concern is that Baldwin was the person responsible for managing the production of Rust. It was his responsibility to ensure that people were doing their jobs correctly. The buck stops with him, not some lowly employee.

Alec Baldwin's 'Rust' armorer charged after allegedly passing drugs off on day of fatal shooting

Hannah Gutierrez Reed was charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in a new filing. The armorer was working on the set of "Rust" when Halyna Hutchins was shot.

www.foxnews.com

Alec Baldwin's 'Rust' assistant director sentenced in fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins

"Rust" assistant director Dave Halls was sentenced Friday after pleading no contest. Halls handled the gun the day cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in an on-set shooting in October 2021.

www.foxnews.com

 

[The_Doc_Man]

As a co-producer, he had to share blame. However, from what I read, his claim that he never touched the trigger has been demonstrated to have been possible because the gun had been modified and he was unaware of it. (This only means he was negligent in his duties as co-producer, though.) I had a friend who worked as a stunt man on some films in New Orleans. We actually have a modest presence for TV and theatrical films here. He told me how prop-masters are supposed to work. The weapons don't even come onto the set until the last moment and there is supposed to be a verbal exchange to verify a safe weapon. WIth the movie Rust there was apparently a breakdown in communication and that left the door open for Ms. Hutchins to be shot fatally.

 

[Pat Hartman]

What I find amusing (not that a wasteful death can be amusing) about the story is that Baldwin appears to be getting a pass due to his politics. Because he is a liberal, blame falls on the gun. It was the gun that shot itself and killed the associate, not Baldwin.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

The person responsible for modifying the gun is, however, getting a huge chunk of blame. I'm with you on this, Pat, but the damage is done. On the other hand, the way the Baldwin charges were dropped were non-prejudicial, so other charges could be filed for the same event without incurring double-jeopardy.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I am now seeing online that the District Attorney that has the case is considering refiling modified charges against Baldwin after they test the gun to see if it can fire properly. If it can, he's going up on negligent homicide charges. There is still that issue that caused the original problem and made the D.A. drop the charges without prejudice. But the testing would probably clarify that question.

 

[Steve R.]

The wheels of justice continue to grind slowly on.

Alec Baldwin could be charged again in fatal 'Rust' shooting as new report claims he pulled trigger

Alec Baldwin could be facing charges again as experts commissioned by the prosecution found that the trigger on the revolver used in the "Rust" shooting had to be pulled.

www.foxnews.com

Special prosecutors dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin in April but noted in a June 9 filing that they would refile if the revolver had not been modified.

Still troubling is the pending trial of the film's armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. While she bears a degree of responsibility and should be sentenced as such (if found guilty). Nevertheless, Baldwin as one of the big-wigs was the person responsible for managing the production of Rust. It was his responsibility to ensure that people were doing their jobs correctly. If people are not doing their jobs correctly, Baldwin bears some responsibility and should be charged as such. The entire burden should not be placed on some lowly employee.

As the film's armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed gears up for her scheduled December trial, her legal team focused on a new report from independent forensic firearm experts. Lucien Haag and Mike Haag, who were commissioned by the prosecution, concluded that Baldwin had to pull the trigger of the gun in order for it to fire.

The article concludes with the usual:

Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that new charges against Baldwin are being "considered," but a "final decision" has yet to be made.