Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was the armorer on the film "Rust," was also charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
100% deserved, since she was directly responsible for putting a loaded gun in Alec Baldwin's hand when it was literally her job to make sure that could not happen.
lawyer: "Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun – or anywhere on the movie set. He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds."
It's true that Alec Baldwin didn't know. Now let's apply that to the law:
NM Stat § 30-2-3 (2019) B. Involuntary manslaughter consists of manslaughter committed in the commission of an unlawful act not amounting to felony, or in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death in an unlawful manner or without due caution and circumspection.
Even if Alec Baldwin did not know there were live rounds in the gun, it was a possibility that the gun might be in some way dangerous (such as with Brandon Lee's death), so it was negligent for him to aim the gun directly at the woman and pull the trigger, particularly when the scene did not call for him to do anything of that nature. Basic caution and safety would demand that he at least point the gun in a slightly different direction, not directly at another person, when firing it. Alec Baldwin also did not check the gun himself before firing it while aiming directly at another human being.
The charges are justified. involuntary manslaughter doesn't require knowledge or intent, it is effectively negligent homicide.
The bigger failure was the both the production company(s) not rigorously enforcing redundant safety standards (cast+crew double checking weaponry after the armorer), and crew not reporting unsafe conduct to a regulatory body or insurance company, if there was a mechanism with real consequences to do so. Frankly, the film industry should require firearm competence certification for anyone handling a gun or realistic prop. All the above are much more important than the 2nd rule by itself.
100% deserved, since she was directly responsible for putting a loaded gun in Alec Baldwin's hand when it was literally her job to make sure that could not happen.
It's true that Alec Baldwin didn't know. Now let's apply that to the law:
Even if Alec Baldwin did not know there were live rounds in the gun, it was a possibility that the gun might be in some way dangerous (such as with Brandon Lee's death), so it was negligent for him to aim the gun directly at the woman and pull the trigger, particularly when the scene did not call for him to do anything of that nature. Basic caution and safety would demand that he at least point the gun in a slightly different direction, not directly at another person, when firing it. Alec Baldwin also did not check the gun himself before firing it while aiming directly at another human being.
The charges are justified. involuntary manslaughter doesn't require knowledge or intent, it is effectively negligent homicide.
Rule number fucking two of basic firearm safety: Don't point at anything you don't intend to destroy.
The bigger failure was the both the production company(s) not rigorously enforcing redundant safety standards (cast+crew double checking weaponry after the armorer), and crew not reporting unsafe conduct to a regulatory body or insurance company, if there was a mechanism with real consequences to do so. Frankly, the film industry should require firearm competence certification for anyone handling a gun or realistic prop. All the above are much more important than the 2nd rule by itself.