In Santa Fe, the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, began a trial with the participation of a jury panel over the actor Alec Baldwin, who is accused of manslaughter of the cameraman of Ukrainian origin Galina Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust" in the fall of 2021, writes UNN with reference to the BBC.
Details
On the first day, the prosecution and defense painted completely opposite pictures of the events that led to Hutchins' death, the publication wrote.
If convicted, Baldwin faces up to 18 months in prison.
In his opening statement, the defense presented Baldwin as an actor doing his job and trusting the team tasked with securing the guns.
Prosecutors, on the other hand, argued that he grossly neglected safety on the set of a movie with a small budget and an inexperienced cast.
Prosecutor Erlinda Johnson told the jury that the case was "simple and straightforward.
She said Baldwin was "playing with a revolver" and "violated safe firearms handling rules" on the set.
However, the defense team argued that firearms are treated differently on set - each crew member has their own role and responsibilities, including safety and handling.
"He simply acted the way generations have done, and it was safety engineering that failed them all," Baldwin's attorney Alex Spiro said. - Alec Baldwin committed no crime.
The crew members in charge of security, including gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and David Halls, assistant director and security coordinator, failed to do their jobs, he claimed.
Halls pleaded guilty to unsafe handling of a firearm, and Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Baldwin pleads not guilty and claims he did not pull the trigger of the revolver before firing, but only cocked the trigger.
And, as the publication notes, a key issue in the trial will be Baldwin's claim that he did not pull the trigger when the revolver in his hands went off.
Prosecutors questioned that claim from the outset and said the FBI conducted extensive tests and the weapons "worked perfectly fine as designed.
Baldwin's attorneys noted that during one of the tests, agents broke some components of the weapon, preventing it from being used for further analysis as part of the defense.
Later in the trial, several witnesses are expected to testify, and the jury will also be shown audio and video footage from the movie set, including from the day Galina Hutchins was killed.
Supplement
Galina Hutchins, 42, was shot and killed with the gun Baldwin was using during a rehearsal on the set of the western "Rust," which was filming in New Mexico. Director Joel Souza was also wounded in the incident.