Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is heading to prison after getting sentenced to 18 months behind bars for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
“You alone turned a safe weapon into a lethal weapon,” Judge Mary Marlow Sommer said to Gutierrez-Reed in her sentencing Monday after shutting down defense pleas for probation and counseling. “But for you, Ms. Hutchins would be alive, a husband would have his partner and a little boy would have his mother.” The 18-month sentence is the maximum penalty a criminal can receive under New Mexico law.
Gutierrez-Reed has expressed deep remorse for the tragic event, saying her “heart aches” for everyone affected by her negligence. Chalking her actions up to being “young and naive,” she disapproves of the media painting her as a monster in this scenario. “I beg you please don’t give me more time,” Gutierrez-Reed pleaded to the court before sentencing. “The jury has found me in part at fault for this God-awful tragedy but that doesn’t make a monster,” she reasoned. “That makes me human.”
Unfortunately for Gutierrez-Reed, her words were brushed aside, with Judge Sommer saying she had not heard the defendant take accountability for her actions and, in several phone calls made from jail, pushed the blame onto others. “Your attorney had to tell the court you were remorseful,” said Judge Sommer.
Gutierrez-Reed’s trial lasted two weeks, with the Rust armorer convicted of involuntary manslaughter. She was not found guilty of evidence tampering, which could have increased her sentence to nearly three years.
While Alec Baldwin has pleaded not guilty in the Rust case, the prosecution is pressing forward that there was more involved than just gunfire that should contribute to a guilty verdict. According to prosecutor Kari Morrissey, reckless behavior and disregard ultimately led to that moment in which the 42-year-old Hutchins died. “To watch Mr. Baldwin’s conduct on the set of Rust is to witness a man who has absolutely no control of his own emotions and absolutely no concern for how his conduct affects those around him. Witnesses have testified that it was this exact conduct that contributed to safety compromises on set.”
Morrissey also supports the claim that Alec Baldwin has been inconsistent in recounting the incident and everything that was going on on the set of Rust, which shut down production following the death of October 2001 and resumed in April 2023. “Every time Mr. Baldwin spoke, a different version of events emerged from his mouth, and his later statements contradicted his previous statements.” Filming wrapped in May last year, although no release date has been officially set.
What do you think of Gutierrez-Reed’s sentencing for her part in the untimely death of Halyna Hutchins? Could Alec Baldwin go to jail for his part in the tragic incident? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.