On January 31, the New Mexico District Attorney’s Office, United States, formalized involuntary manslaughter charges against actor Alec Baldwin for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of the film Rust in October 2021.
The filing comes nearly two weeks after District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced her plan to move forward with criminal charges against Baldwin, as well as Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the gunsmith and security protocol officer at the shooting, who physically loaded the Colt 45 revolver given to the Oscar nominee.
According to the court documents with the serious accusations, Baldwin was “extremely” negligent in many ways, because as an actor and producer of the film, he violated numerous safety regulations. Similarly, the District Attorney’s Office filed similar charges against Hannah Gutiérrez-Reed.
In October 2022, the actor and the producers had announced a legal settlement with the widower of Halyna Hutchins, hoping not to go to trial, a vain hope that won’t actually prevent Baldwin from being prosecuted.
Now both Baldwin and Gutiérrez-Reed would be facing a criminal trial. If convicted, both would face up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine.
However, if they are found guilty with aggravating circumstances, that is, if the charge includes the use of a firearm, the penalty could be up to five years in prison. For now, the two defendants must appear before the judge within 30 days, although they may also do so via videoconference.