Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armourer on the set of the film Rust, has been released from the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants.
This marked the end of her 18-month sentence for involuntary manslaughter.
Gutierrez-Reed was released on Friday and has returned home to Bullhead City, Arizona, where she will remain on parole for a year.
She was the armourer in charge of weapons during the filming of the Western movie in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in October 2021, when a prop gun held by actor and co-producer Alec Baldwin discharged during a rehearsal.
The weapons supervisor for the production of Rust in 2021 was jailed for 18 months after the film's cinematographer was shot dead
REUTERS
The incident resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
Gutierrez-Reed was acquitted of tampering with evidence during the investigation but remains on probation for a separate conviction.
The conviction was carrying a firearm into a Santa Fe bar where weapons were prohibited, just weeks before Rust began filming.
Involuntary manslaughter, the charge she was convicted of, refers to causing a person’s death through negligence, without intent.
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The incident resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza
GETTY
During her 10-day trial in New Mexico in 2024, prosecutors argued that Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for unintentionally introducing live ammunition onto the Rust set and for failing to adhere to basic gun safety protocols.
The 18-month sentence she received was the maximum penalty for the offence.
Baldwin also faced an involuntary manslaughter charge over the shooting, but his case was dismissed during his trial last July.
The dismissal was due to serious errors by the police and prosecutors, including allegations that they withheld key ammunition evidence from Baldwin’s defence team.
Baldwin also faced an involuntary manslaughter charge over the shooting, but his case was dismissed during his trial last July
REUTERSBaldwin has consistently denied pulling the trigger, insisting that others on set were responsible for ensuring the gun was safe.
Filming of Rust was later completed in Montana, and the film was released earlier this month, excluding the scene being rehearsed when Hutchins was shot.
At the film’s premiere in Poland last November, director Souza spoke about the tragedy and how it shaped the final cut.
Rust tells the story of a 13-year-old boy who, after the death of his parents in 1880s Wyoming, goes on the run with his long-estranged grandfather after being sentenced to hang for the accidental killing of a local rancher.
