SANTA FE, NM — A special prosecutor is opposing a request by a former film industry gunmaker to release her from prison while she pursues a new trial and appeal of her conviction for involuntary manslaughter in a 2021 shooting on the set of the film “Rust.”
Kari Morrissey wrote in a response filed Friday that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s request for release “is premature as the court has not yet received a full briefing on the defendant’s motion for a new trial, has yet to hear arguments on the defendant’s motion, and has yet to rule in favor of the defendant on the motion.”
Attorneys for Gutierrez-Reed have argued that her case should be reconsidered because prosecutors have failed to share evidence that could have exonerated her.
Gutierrez-Reed wants a judge to throw out her conviction or order a new trial in the shooting death of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins by actor Alec Baldwin.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer of “Rust,” was point a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on a film set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Gutierrez-Reed has already appealed the involuntary manslaughter conviction to a higher court.
She was convicted by a jury in March in a trial overseen by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, who later… the maximum sentence of 18 months was imposed.
Baldwin’s trial ended on July 12 when Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case, citing police and prosecutorial misconduct in withholding evidence from the defense.
Prosecutors accused Gutierrez-Reed of unknowingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of “Rust,” where it was expressly prohibited, and of failing to follow basic gun safety protocols.
She was acquitted at trial of charges that she manipulated evidence in the ‘Rust’ investigation.
