Alec Baldwin broke 'cardinal rules of firearm safety' which led to Halyna Hutchins' death, says prosecutor

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO: The trial of Alec Baldwin -- accused of involuntary manslaughter associated with the October 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while working on the Western film 'Rust' in New Mexico -- began on Wednesday, July 10.

Special prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson accused Baldwin, 66, of violating fundamental gun safety rules and playing "make-believe" with a real firearm as she began the case against the Hollywood actor in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Baldwin's attorney, on the other hand, claimed that Hutchins, 42, died because he was just an "actor, acting" and those on set who handed him a gun loaded with a live round are the ones responsible for the death, per the New York Post.

Earlier, 'Rust' armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted guilty of involuntary manslaughter and given an 18-month prison sentence; assistant director David Halls has entered a guilty plea to improper firearm handling, per BBC News.

Alec Baldwin accused of violating 'cardinal rules' while playing 'make-believe with real gun'

The '30 Rock' actor has been accused of one count of involuntary manslaughter after he accidentally discharged a live bullet during rehearsal for 'Rust' at Bonanza Creek Ranch, on October 21, 2021, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

Baldwin, who is known for impersonating Donald Trump on 'Saturday Night Live', could serve up to 18 months behind bars if found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Focusing on Baldwin's "reckless" behavior on set, prosecutor Ocampo claimed that by aiming a gun at someone and firing the trigger, Baldwin had broken the "cardinal rules of firearm safety."

"The evidence will show that someone who played make-believe with a real gun and violated the cardinal rules of firearm safety — is the defendant Alec Baldwin," Ocampo told the jurors.

Ocampo continued, "After that shooting, the defendant began to claim he didn’t pull the trigger. The evidence will show that’s not possible."

According to Ocampo, several firearms specialists will attest that "the gun will not discharge without a pull of that trigger."

Moreover, a gun expert's repeated testing following Hutchins' death revealed that "this gun functioned and worked perfectly fine."

"When someone plays make-believe with a real gun in a real-life workplace, and while playing make-believe with that gun violates the cardinal rules of firearm safety, people’s lives are endangered and someone could be killed," the prosecutor added, per CNN.

Prosecutor alleges Alec Baldwin used firearms in 'reckless' manner

Prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson described how a huge movie star acted "in a reckless manner" and "without due regard for the safety of others" on the movie set.

The prosecutor stated, "You will hear about numerous breaches of firearms safety with this defendant and with this firearm."

Ocampo claimed that Baldwin had routinely loaded and pointed firearms at individuals on set, had not taken a guns training class seriously, and had "requested to be assigned the biggest gun available" for the 'Rust' scene, Agence France-Presse.

Actors are required by movie set safety regulations "to treat every firearm as though it's loaded, to never point a firearm at another person, and to never put your finger on the trigger unless you're prepared to shoot," Ocampo added.

Baldwin allegedly neglected to conduct a safety check with armorer Gutierrez-Reed because "he didn't want to offend her," claimed Ocampo.

The prosecutor stated, "One of the main problems that afternoon is that the defendant didn’t do a gun safety check with that inexperienced armorer."

"He pointed the gun at another human being, cocked the gun and pulled that trigger in reckless disregard for Ms Hutchins safety."

Defense lawyer claims 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins 'an unspeakable tragedy'

The defense, on the other hand, accused the first assistant director and the armorer for the movie of sharing responsibility for the safety of firearms on set and permitting a real bullet to be inserted into the prop gun without taking precautions to ensure it does not reach Baldwin.

During his opening remarks, defense attorney Alex Spiro stated, "This was an unspeakable tragedy, but Alec Baldwin committed no crime. He was an actor, acting, playing the role of Harlan Rust."

"An actor playing a character can do things that are lethal. These ‘cardinal rules’ are not cardinal rules on a movie set," he added.

Spiro held assistant director David Halls and Gutierrez-Reed, who handled the gun and were in charge of inspecting it before Baldwin handled it, solely responsible for Hutchins' death.

"Those people failed in their duties, but Alec Baldwin committed no crime," Spiro remarked.

The defense attorney added, "Nobody had any idea that this venomous toxic element had been inserted into this magic they were creating."

"But it did, it entered that place. It killed an amazing person, it wounded another and it changed lives forever."