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Hannah Gutierrez-Reed‘s manslaughter trial kicked off Thursday, and both the prosecution and defense have revealed their hands for the court battle … with the prosecution laying the blame squarely on HGR while the defense is pointing to a broader institutional failure.
The “Rust” armorer — who was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins — appeared in a New Mexico court, and the opening statements took place not long ago.
The prosecution started the whole trial by first saying they believe it was Gutierrez-Reed’s fault the live round that killed Hutchins ended up on set in the first place.
Prosecutors say Hannah didn’t always adhere to safety protocols on set … for example, they claim she didn’t offer to show the actors the rounds inside the weapon or have the gun inspected in front of them — a protocol prosecutors insist she was supposed to follow.
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Hannah not following protocols was common on set according to the prosecution, which claims they’ll provide several witnesses who will testify about Gutierrez-Reed not adequately performing her duties.
They say she regularly left guns and ammo just lying around the set … and even allowed live ammo to make its way on set. They even claim Hannah couldn’t recognize a live round when it was sitting in her lap.
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In Hannah’s defense, her lawyers say she was tasked with multiple jobs on set when she was just 24 — both armorer and prop assistant — which was a lot to ask her to do. Her team claims Hannah’s age and relative anonymity make her an ideal scapegoat for the tragedy.
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And, they’re also saying she did her job well … noting she even asked the production manager for more armorer days — because she was splitting time between jobs and wanted to focus on her responsibilities in that domain. Her lawyers say her request was ultimately denied by the production.
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In addition, the defense says OSHA — a government agency in charge of health and safety for workplaces — found numerous mistakes in the production overall that can’t just be pinned on Reed individually. The defense added OSHA fined the production … a fine they say was one of the largest in New Mexico’s history.
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Alec Baldwin was also mentioned … with Hannah’s layers saying he violated the most basic gun safety rule — don’t point a gun at someone unless you want to shoot them. They say he either had his finger on the trigger or pulled it … but either way, it wasn’t Hannah’s fault.
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The trial’s supposed to run through March 8 … filled with what we imagine will be a ton of twists and turns.
Stay tuned …
