SANTA FE, New Mexico - A New Mexico prosecutor on Wednesday said Alec Baldwin broke "cardinal rules" for handling guns in the 2021 killing of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, while his lawyer said he was failed by the movie's set safety experts who already have been convicted in the case. The 66-year-old Baldwin, on trial in Hollywood's first on-set shooting fatality in three decades, took notes at the defense table and listened calmly in his involuntary manslaughter trial. The prosecution is largely unprecedented in U.
S. history, holding an actor criminally responsible for a gun death during filming. A New Mexico jury heard prosecutor Erlinda Johnson outline arguments Baldwin disregarded safety during filming of the low-budget movie when he pointed a gun at Hutchins, cocked it and pulled the trigger as they set up a camera shot in movie-set church southwest of Santa Fe.
"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, Alexander Baldwin," Johnson said. Baldwin's wife Hilaria Baldwin sat in the second row of the public gallery, his brother Stephen Baldwin in front of her. His lawyer Alex Spiro pointed to "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez - head of gun safety - and first assistant director Dave Halls - responsible for overall set safety.
Both have been convicted in the shooting, and Spiro said they did not check the rounds in the gun to ensure it was safe for Baldwin to use. "Th.
