‘Rust’ armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed appeals involuntary manslaughter conviction
By Cindy Von Quednow, CNN
(CNN) — Attorneys for Hannah Gutierrez Reed – the armorer on the “Rust” movie set who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in prison for the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins – have filed an appeal with the New Mexico Court of Appeals over the verdict, a court document filed Monday shows.
Gutierrez Reed’s attorneys are also appealing the denial of her pretrial motions, including a motion to dismiss on multiple grounds.
Gutierrez Reed, 26, was convicted in March and sentenced on April 15.
Earlier this month, her attorneys filed a motion for her release pending the appeal, indicating she is “not a danger to the community or a flight risk.”
“Ms. Gutierrez Reed is requesting to be released while she appeals, as if her appeal is successful, she will have served most or all of her sentence anyway, rendering a large part of the appeal meaningless,” the motion for release states.
CNN has reached out to special prosecutor Kari Morrissey for comment on the appeal.
The involuntary manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin, who starred in and produced the film, is set to begin in July.
Gutierrez Reed’s 18-month prison sentence in April by a New Mexico judge was the maximum possible punishment.
The verdict came more than two years after Hutchins, 42, was killed by a live round of ammunition fired from a prop gun held by actor Alec Baldwin on October 21, 2021. The film’s director Joel Souza was also injured in the shooting.
As the armorer, Gutierrez Reed was responsible for firearm safety and storage on set. She became the first person to stand trial and be convicted in the case, which has captured national attention for more than two years.
At trial, prosecutors argued she repeatedly violated safety protocol and acted without caution in performing her duties, ultimately leading to Hutchins’ death. Gutierrez Reed’s defense attorney argued she has been scapegoated for the safety failures of film set management and other crew members. Gutierrez Reed did not testify during the trial.
After hearing from more than 30 witnesses and deliberating for nearly three hours, jurors found Gutierrez Reed guilty of involuntary manslaughter on March 6. She was acquitted of a separate charge of evidence tampering.
CNN’s Christina Maxouris, Cheri Mossburg and Eric Levenson contributed to this report.
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