Alec Baldwin Faces Jury Trial Today for Involuntary Manslaughter of Ukrainian Film Cameraman on 'Rust' Set Two Years Ago
Two years after the death of Ukrainian cameraman Galyna Hutchins, the actor will stand trial today, Tuesday 9 July. Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial in connection with a fatal shooting on the set of a western film in 2021 begins with the selection of a jury to decide whether he is guilty of the death of a member of the Rust film crew.
Baldwin pointed a shotgun at cinematographer Galyna Hutchins during a rehearsal for a scene, when he fired, killing her and wounding the film's director.
Baldwin, 66, says he did not know the gun was loaded and did not pull the trigger. Prosecutors say he acted recklessly on set and repeatedly changed his story after the tragic events of October 2021.
Numerous attempts by Baldwin's lawyers to have the case dismissed have failed. On Monday, the actor attended the last pre-trial hearing.
Jury selection will begin on Tuesday, opening arguments are expected on Wednesday, and the trial in the southwestern state of New Mexico will last about 10 days.
Galyna Hutchins is a 2015 graduate of the American Film Institute. A native of Ukraine, she grew up on a Soviet military base above the Arctic Circle, graduated from the Institute of Journalism at Kyiv National University and worked as an investigator for a British documentary project in Europe. She graduated from the AFI Conservatory's two-year programme at the age of forty-two.
Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the gunman in the Rust film, is demanding her immediate release from prison as she prepares to seek a new trial. According to court documents filed on 27 June and obtained by Fox News Digital, Gutierrez Reed's lawyer accused prosecutors of withholding "exculpatory evidence" that would have led to a "fundamentally different trial and likely different outcome".
The gunman's team argued that the state had failed to release a report on the discovery of "unexplained tool marks on critical surfaces of the trigger and whisper" of a replica Pietta 45 Colt revolver used on the set of the western. Gutierrez Reed's lawyer, Jason Bowles, noted that the marks were not "the result of damage caused during the FBI's kick test". According to the report, the marks also "do not appear to be original production marks or tool use and abuse marks due to [their] incorrect orientation".
