SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The defense told jurors Wednesday that the shooting death of cinematographer Halina Hutchins was an “unspeakable tragedy,” but that ” Alec Baldwin He wasn’t committing a crime, he was just acting.”
Baldwin’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, stressed during opening statements in a Santa Fe, New Mexico, courtroom that Baldwin, who is on trial for manslaughter, did exactly what actors do all the time on the set of “Lust,” where Hutchins was killed in October 2021.
“You’ve all seen shootouts in the movies, so I don’t need to explain this one any further,” Spiro said.
In her opening statement, special prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson argued that Baldwin “violated basic rules of firearms safety” by failing to check the safety and by recklessly handling the revolver just before firing.
“The evidence will show that the individual who played house with a real gun and violated basic firearm safety rules was the defendant, Alexander Baldwin,” Johnson said.
Spiro responded, “Those ground rules are not ground rules on a movie set.”
“On a movie set, security must be ensured before a gun is placed in an actor’s hands,” Spiro told the jury.
Johnson began his speech by stressing that the shooting scene was a workplace and that innocent people had an expectation of safety that Baldwin and others were denying.
“As with many workplaces, the evidence will show that there are individuals who behave recklessly and put others at risk,” Johnson said. “You’ll hear that these are the defendants.”
Associated Press reporter Margie Saroleta reports that opening statements in the trial of actor Alec Baldwin will begin Wednesday.
Johnson outlined the events leading up to Hutchins’ death to the jury. He said that on that day, Baldwin repeatedly declined a standard security inspection by the weapons dealer. Hannah Gutierrez Reid Hutchins was a “vibrant, rising star, 42 years old” who “did what I wanted to do,” Baldwin said before a rehearsal at a small church about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the courthouse where she was killed.
“He cocked the gun, pointed it straight at Mr. Hutchins and fired, firing a live round into Mr. Hutchins’ body,” said Johnson, who was appointed by the Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office in late April and is a relatively newcomer to the case.
During the presentation, Baldwin looked away from the jury and down at his notepad. He gazed intently at Spiro during opening statements. Among the family and friends sitting behind him were his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, and his actor brother, Stephen Baldwin.
The trial will delve into the intersection of gun safety, big-name celebrities and a low-budget Western set on a remote ranch.
of 16 jurors The jury is made up of 11 women and five men, and comes from a region with a strong background in backcountry hunting and a strong sense of gun ownership and safety. Four of the jurors are considered alternates, while the remaining 12 will take over the case.
Hutchins’ Death The injury to director Joel Souza nearly three years ago sent shockwaves through the film industry, and Baldwin, 66, was charged with a felony that could carry a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison.
“They killed a great person,” Spiro said, “hurt another person and changed people’s lives forever.”
Baldwin claims he was following instructions to point the gun at Hutchins, who was behind the camera, when the gun accidentally fired — he didn’t realize it was loaded with live ammunition, and pulled the hammer instead of the trigger, causing the gun to fire.
“Nobody saw him intentionally pull the trigger,” Spiro said.
But even if Baldwin lied about it, it wouldn’t be manslaughter, Spiro said.
“You’re allowed to pull the trigger on a movie set,” Spiro said, adding, “It doesn’t make it murder.”
The lawyers stressed that responsibility for safety rests with the film’s weapons manager, Gutierrez Reed, who has already been convicted of manslaughter, and assistant director David Holes, who pleaded not guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon in exchange for testifying at trial.
Before receiving the revolver, Baldwin had been described as a “cold gun,” but did not know it contained live ammunition.
“The gun had been inspected multiple times by gun safety officials,” Spiro said. “He had not tampered with the gun, he had not loaded it himself and he had not left the gun unattended.”
Spiro has become one of the country’s most sought-after lawyers in recent years, with clients including Elon Musk, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Megan Thee Stallion.
Baldwin — “Beetlejuice,” “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “30 Rock” — has been a well-known actor and public figure for over 30 years.
At the end of his opening statement, Spiro said witnesses would testify that “no actor in history has ever stopped a live round fired from a prop gun.”
“No one could have imagined or expected that an actor would do something like that,” the lawyer said.
The prosecutor Two alternative standards for proving an accusationOne is based on the careless use of a firearm, and the other is to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Baldwin acted with complete disregard or indifference to the safety of others.
Testimony at trial will include detailed questions about the weapon’s construction and whether it could have been fired without pulling the trigger, which prosecutors say is impossible.
“The gun that the defendant requested be surrendered functioned perfectly as designed,” Johnson said. “The defendant showed reckless disregard for Ms. Hutchins’ safety when he pointed the gun at another person, cocked the gun, and pulled the trigger.”
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Dalton reported from Los Angeles.
___ For more on Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter trial, see: https://apnews.com/hub/AlecBaldwin
