Jania Ashlynn
The internet has been reeling since October 2021 over the fatal shooting of a Rust crew member by the name of Halyna Hutchins. While on the set of the movie, lead actor, Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun. It injured director Joel Souza and killed Hutchins.
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Baldwin has been in and out of court over Hutchins’ death. He was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter with a firearms enhancement charge added on. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer, received the same charges as well.
Recent Events
Recently, prosecutors have decided to drop the firearm enhancement charges. Heather Brewer, the spokesperson for the Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office, made the following statement:
“In order to avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys, the District Attorney and the special prosecutor have removed the firearm enhancement to the involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the Rust film set. The prosecution’s priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys,” she said.
More Litigation
The family of Halyna Hutchins is settling a civil lawsuit with Alec Baldwin over the wrongful death of their loved one. The settlement amount remains undisclosed.
The original suit was filed in February 2022 against the production company, the producers, various members of the crew, and Baldwin. The family is claiming a number of industry-standard violations.
Halyna’s widowed husband, Matthew Hutchins released a statement after the settlement was finalized:
“We have reached a settlement, subject to court approval, for our wrongful death case against the producers of Rust, including Alec Baldwin and Rust Movie Productions, LLC. As part of that settlement, our case will be dismissed. The filming of Rust, which I will now executive produce, will resume with all the original principal players on board in January 2023. I have no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame. All of us believe Halyna’s death was a terrible accident. I am grateful that the producers and the entertainment community have come together to pay tribute to Halyna’s final work,” his statement read.
