"He put his finger on the trigger" Prosecutor drives Alec Baldwin into a corner
International press awaits actor Alec Baldwin as he arrives at court in Santa Fe. The trial for the involuntary manslaughter of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins is scheduled to last nine days.
Image: IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire
Baldwin is visibly nervous and worried during the first hearing. He is reassured by his wife Hilaria.
Image: KEYSTONE
Baldwin's lawyer, Alex Spiro, has already represented Elon Musk and is convinced of the actor's innocence: "It's not the actor's job to control the gun."
Image: KEYSTONE
Prosecutor Erlinda Johnson takes a hard line, saying that Baldwin is clearly to blame. Not only did he put his finger on the trigger, he also handled the gun carelessly on set. She backed this up with video footage.
Image: KEYSTONE
International press awaits actor Alec Baldwin as he arrives at court in Santa Fe. The trial for the involuntary manslaughter of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins is scheduled to last nine days.
Image: IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire
Baldwin is visibly nervous and worried during the first hearing. He is reassured by his wife Hilaria.
Image: KEYSTONE
Baldwin's lawyer, Alex Spiro, has already represented Elon Musk and is convinced of the actor's innocence: "It's not the actor's job to control the gun."
Image: KEYSTONE
Prosecutor Erlinda Johnson takes a hard line, saying that Baldwin is clearly to blame. Not only did he put his finger on the trigger, he also handled the gun carelessly on set. She backed this up with video footage.
Image: KEYSTONE
Three years after the accident on the western set of "Rust", actor Alec Baldwin has to answer for involuntary manslaughter. The first day of the trial is visibly getting to him - the prosecutor is taking off the kid gloves.
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- Alec Baldwin pleads not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the trial because he should not have checked the weapon and had no knowledge of live ammunition.
- The defense emphasizes that the responsibility for gun safety lies with specially trained personnel and not with the actors.
- The prosecution argues that Baldwin violated the basic rules of gun safety and is responsible for the fatal shooting of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins.
In the trial against Alec Baldwin for the involuntary manslaughter of a camerawoman, the defense is presenting the incident as a tragedy for which the Hollywood star is not to blame. "Alec Baldwin did not commit a crime. He was an actor playing his part," said lawyer Alex Spiro in court in Santa Fe in the US state of New Mexico.
Baldwin follows his lawyer's opening statement with a serious look and visible tension. The trial is about the question of whether the 66-year-old was negligent in the fatal shooting of a camerawoman on the film set of the 2021 western "Rust" and must therefore go to prison.
The charge stems from a shooting incident on the set of "Rust". On October 21, 2021, lead actor Baldwin pulled out a revolver during rehearsals, as requested by the director. But instead of harmless blanks, live ammunition went off. A bullet hit camerawoman Halyna Hutchins (42) and then director Joel Souza, who was standing behind her, in the shoulder. The mother of a then nine-year-old son died shortly afterwards, Souza escaped with minor injuries.
Responsibility of employees on set
"There will not be a single witness in this trial, not a single shred of evidence that Alec knew or could have known that the gun was loaded with a live round," emphasized defense attorney Spiro. "Actors do not check the weapons, safety is ensured by special personnel."
However, the responsibility for ensuring that weapons are not dangerous during film shoots lies with weapons masters and other employees.
No actor has ever removed live ammunition from a revolver prop, Spiro continued. Alec Baldwin was therefore not guilty of anything, but was simply doing his job. Twelve jurors are to decide in the trial, which is scheduled to last eight days. Baldwin had pleaded not guilty. He faces up to 18 months in prison.
Purple shirt and serious look
Baldwin could be seen on the TV images from the courtroom with a serious expression on his face. He wore a dark suit and tie as well as a purple shirt and occasionally put on his glasses to read documents. His wife, Hilaria Baldwin (40), and one of his brothers, actor Stephen Baldwin (58), were also in the courtroom, according to journalists present.
Prosecutor Erlinda Johnson presented a different version of Baldwin's responsibility to the jury: "The evidence will show that the person who played with a real gun and violated the basic rules of gun safety is the defendant Alexander Baldwin." He was therefore guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
In her opening statement, Johnson also shed light on the role of the already convicted gun master Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. Many people working on the set were aware that Gutierrez-Reed had little experience as an armorer. Despite this, Baldwin had "never carried out a safety check" when he had this weapon in his hand.
The actor had also failed to handle the revolver properly on many other occasions. Baldwin had pointed it at people while filming. "You'll see him put his finger on the trigger when his finger shouldn't be on the trigger," Johnson continued to the jury.
"You can pull the trigger on a movie set"
Attorney Spiro countered: "You're allowed to pull the trigger on a movie set." If Baldwin had done this - even if he could not remember it - this did not make him guilty. His client could not have known that the gun was loaded with a live bullet, which should not actually exist on sets. The revolver had been handed over to the star of films such as "The Hunt for Red October" and "Blue Jasmine" in a tested condition.
After the opening statements, two police officers and a crime scene technician were called as the first witnesses in the trial on Wednesday. Baldwin and the other trial participants were repeatedly shown video recordings during the questioning, showing the chaos and confusion following the fatal shooting.
In one particularly intense recording, people could be seen fighting for Hutchins' life as she lay lifeless on the floor.
Earlier guilty verdict against weapons master
Judge Mary Marlowe has scheduled the trial until mid-July. Cameras are permitted - the proceedings will be made accessible to the public via livestream. Among others, filmmakers, investigators and weapons experts are expected to take the witness stand.
It is not yet known whether Baldwin herself will testify.
In a separate trial, gun master Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for gun safety on the set of "Rust", had already been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. She had loaded the gun, which contained live ammunition. In April, she was sentenced to the maximum sentence of 18 months in prison.