‘Rust’ Armorer Wants Out Of Prison While Awaiting Appeal

The rookie armorer had been sentenced to 18 months behind bars – the maximum allowed by the state – after a judge concluded that she did not show remorse for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s legal team filed a Motion for Release Pending Appeal on May 7, about a month after she was sentenced to the state maximum of 18 months behind bars. It took a jury less than three hours to find her guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

However, the jury returned a not guilty verdict to a lesser charge of tampering with evidence. A crew member had come forward in 2023 claiming that Hannah had handed her a bag of white powder on the day that Hutchins was killed. The woman claimed she believed this bag to contain cocaine and threw it out in a hotel lobby. The substance was never found or tested to identify it as cocaine.

The trial was held from February 21, 2024, and ran through March 6, 2024. On April 9, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer sentenced her to 18 months behind bars. In addition to filing a post-conviction motion on the jury instructions, which was denied by the court, her legal team is also appealing the jury instruction issue, as well as other prior motions filed in the case.

“Ms. Gutierrez-Reed is requesting to be released while she appeals as if her appeal is successful, she will have served most or all of her sentence anyway, rendering a large part of the appeal meaningless,” the court filing states, noting that the armorer is “not a danger to the community or a flight risk.”

It is unclear whether the judge will grant an appeal, as she chided the rookie armorer for showing no remorse for the death of Halyna Hutchins. During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors played recorded phone calls from prison, in which Hannah Gutierrez-Reed could be heard calling the jurors “idiots” and using other foul language to describe them.

The day after the guilty verdict was announced, Halyna Hutchins’ mother, father, and sister made a statement through their attorney, Gloria Allred. The attorney is representing the family in a lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and other “Rust” producers, alleging that negligence on set is what caused the death of Halyna.

In a brief statement, family attorneys Gloria Allred and John Carpenter said, “Halyna’s parents and her sister have always wanted everyone who is responsible for Halyna’s death to be held accountable,” adding, “Today was the first trial and conviction in the criminal justice process. We are satisfied that the jury, based on the evidence, found Hannah Gutierrez-Reed guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for her part in the taking of Halyna’s life.”

They went on to say, “We look forward to the justice system continuing to make sure that everyone else who is responsible for Halyna’s death is required to face the legal consequences for their actions.” In Wednesday’s closing arguments, prosecutor Kari Morrissey said, “The astonishing lack of diligence with regard to gun safety is without question a significant cause of the death of Halyna Hutchins,” per ABC News.

Although Halyna Hutchins’ family was pleased with the guilty verdict, attorney Jason Bowles told reporters outside of the courthouse, “We’re obviously disappointed in the verdict,” adding, “My sense was the evidence wasn’t sufficient to convict and it was a lot of guesswork, a lot of speculation.”

During her closing argument, lead prosecutor Kari Morrissey told jurors, “This is not a case where Hannah Gutierrez made one mistake, and that one mistake was accidental — putting a live round into that gun.” She went on to say, “This case is about constant, never-ending, safety failures that resulted in the death of a human being and nearly killed another.”

“I’m not telling you Hannah Gutierrez intended to bring live rounds on set,” Morrissey said. “I’m saying she was negligent, she was careless, she was thoughtless.”

“The astonishing lack of diligence with regard to gun safety is without question a significant cause of the death of Halyna Hutchins,” she added.