(Los Angeles) The circumstances in which actor Alec Baldwin accidentally fired a gun during a shoot, killing the cinematographer, are starting to become clearer, but one question remains: will anyone be prosecuted for the death of Halyna Hutchins, and if so, who?
No arrests have taken place at this stage, but justice has not yet ruled out possible criminal proceedings against the protagonists of the drama that took place on October 21 on the set of Rust, a low-budget western set in the state of New Mexico.
Legal experts interviewed by AFP believe that the Santa Fe prosecutor’s office can in theory follow two avenues to indict Alec Baldwin: as an actor who pulled the trigger during a rehearsal, and as the film’s producer.
Although many gray areas remain on the chain of facts that led to the accident, these experts nevertheless consider it very unlikely that Alec Baldwin is exposed to criminal prosecution.
The actor was handed the lethal weapon by an assistant director, Dave Halls, who according to several witnesses had announced that the weapon was “cold”, which in cinema jargon means that the gun is empty and harmless.
“He seems to have reasonably thought it was not a loaded gun,” said Gregory Keating, professor of law at the University of Southern California (USC).
A manslaughter charge would require proof that the actor acted recklessly.
But “Alec Baldwin does not seem to have a great responsibility … the more you move away from the person in charge of the revolver, the less likely it is”, declares to AFP Richard Kaplan, criminal lawyer with the law firm Kaplan Marino in Los Angeles.
Would Baldwin be more responsible with his producer cap? Rust has a total of 12 producers and executive producers, Baldwin being one of the latter.
In Hollywood, these titles don’t mean very specific and can apply just as well to the big boss of a shoot as to someone who helped find funding at the start of the project.
It is still unclear who made the decisions on the set of Rust. No more is known about Alec Baldwin’s exact role in production, and the production company has not responded to AFP’s multiple requests.
“My personal feeling is that (Baldwin) is probably very far” in the decision chain, says Kaplan.
“When you’re a star actor and you’re credited as a producer, it doesn’t mean you have big responsibilities… it’s really just for economic reasons,” he adds.
Mr. Keating also believes that Alec Baldwin looks more like a “passive investor than a producer”.
“Negligence”?
PHOTO SETH WENIG, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
It is still unclear who made the decisions on the set of Rust. No more is known about Alec Baldwin’s exact role in production, and the production company has not responded to AFP’s multiple requests.
Beyond the criminal proceedings to which the investigation could lead, the experts, however, consider it highly probable that the family of Halyna Hutchins and the director Joel Souza, injured by the shooting, will initiate civil proceedings to obtain compensation.
These complaints would target the production company, Alec Baldwin and other producers individually and “anyone who has come into contact with the weapon directly or indirectly,” predicts Bryan Sullivan, legal counsel interviewed by AFP.
“I expect everyone to be sued” in civil, he said.
Alec Baldwin would be mainly targeted for his financial base and his reputation, according to the expert.
“I doubt the assistant director has a substantial fortune, so the plaintiff’s lawyer would definitely want to quote Alec Baldwin for the money,” says Bryan Sullivan.
Other protagonists of the drama could also be singled out in a complaint, including Dave Halls and the armourer of the set, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.
On a film, the gunsmith is responsible for the weapons used during the various shots and must constantly ensure that they do not present any danger to the team. Firearms should be kept locked up when not in use.
However, the specialized site The Wrap affirms, citing sources close to the shooting, that some members of the team had used the revolver in question to fire live ammunition at cans of beer just hours before the accident.
Beyond the people who directly handled the weapon, the producers could also be accused of “negligence” if they did not take all the measures to guarantee the safety of the shooting, notes Mr. Keating.
According to several American media, members of the Rust had complained of security breaches and a weapon had been inadvertently fired at least twice before Mr.me Hutchins.