(DailyDig.com) – On March 6, the jury in the Hannah Gutierrez trial returned a verdict of guilty to the involuntary manslaughter of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer in the movie “Rust” in 2021. The court remanded her to jail pending her sentencing.
Gutierrez was the movie’s armorer, which meant she was in charge of ensuring the safety of all firearms, props, or live ammunition used in the filming. The star, Alec Baldwin, shot and killed Hutchins during a rehearsal, drawing attention to Gutierrez’s safety record.
The judge sentenced Gutierrez to 18 months, the maximum penalty for involuntary manslaughter, during the sentencing hearing on April 15. She will serve her sentence at the Santa Fe, New Mexico, state prison.
During the sentencing phase of the trial, testimony by the special prosecutor of New Mexico, Kari T. Morrissey, and friends and coworkers was given. Prior to the sentencing, Gutierrez’s lawyers sent a sentencing memo to the court to ask for probation due to her having no history of criminal behavior. The prosecutors also requested the maximum sentence due to her recklessness as an armorer on the movie set.
Morrissey stated in the sentencing portion of the trial that Gutierrez often failed in her job to maintain the safety of the firearms on set, and due to that failure, Hutchins’ death occurred. Testimony by Jen White, a friend of Hutchins’, stated that she experiences the weight of her friend’s death whenever she remembers that she is gone from her life. She added that if Gutierrez had done her job properly, her friend would not have been gone, and then asked for the judge to give her the maximum sentence to hold her accountable.
The father of Hutchins relayed his statement, which the court read for him. The statement demanded accountability for all those responsible for his daughter’s death. The punishment they receive must match their level of guilt.
The judge stated, as the sentence was announced, that Hutchins “would be alive” if not for Gutierrez.
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