The gunsmith behind Alec Baldwin’s film “Rust” filed a request for permission on Tuesday his conviction for involuntary manslaughter The Supreme Court ruling was overturned days after the Hollywood star was tried for a fatal shooting on a film set collapsed due to undisclosed evidence.
Baldwin was holding a revolver during a rehearsal for the low-budget western in October 2021 when a live bullet was firedkilling the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and the film director’s injury.
Hannah Gutierrez, as the film’s gunsmith, was responsible for providing dummy and blank bullets to the set.
Jim Weber/AP
She accidentally loaded the deadly weapon with a live round – the origin of which has never been explained – and was sentenced earlier this yearr to 18 months in prison.
But at Baldwin’s separate trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico, last week, it emerged that police and prosecutors suppressed potentially important evidence that could have explained how live ammunition ended up on the set.
Bullets that were turned over to law enforcement earlier this year by a former officer and appeared to match the bullet that killed Hutchins were never examined by the lead detective or shown to defense attorneys — meaning their origin remains unknown.
Baldwin’s case was immediately dismissed by the judge, who said the “intentional and deliberate” withholding of evidence was “highly prejudicial to the defendant.”
Gutierrez, also known as Hannah Gutierrez Reed, was already appealing her conviction before the Baldwin trial.
His lawyers have now filed an expedited motion for a new trial or to dismiss the charges because of “serious and continuing violations of the state’s discovery rules.”
The motion said prosecutor Kari Morrissey “repeatedly lied to this court” and was “involved in the decision to hide the ammunition.”
Morrissey is also alleged to have withheld other evidence relevant to Gutierrez’s case until after his trial, including an interview with a supplier of imitation guns and reports from state firearms experts.
“The intentional withholding of crucial evidence… compromised the integrity of the entire judicial process,” the motion states.
“Justice demands that Hannah Gutierrez Reed’s conviction be immediately overturned.”
