'Rust' armorer Hannah Gutierrez sentenced to 18 months in prison for fatal on-set shooting

"Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez was fixed the maximum condemnation of 18 months successful situation for involuntary manslaughter successful the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Gutierrez's attorneys asked for probation successful a sentencing memorandum filed past week, citing her "complete deficiency of anterior transgression history" and "relative youth." Prosecutors meantime requested a condemnation of 18 months with the designation of superior convulsive offender owed to her "extreme recklessness" portion moving arsenic an armorer connected the "Rust" acceptable successful New Mexico.

"You unsocial turned a harmless limb into a lethal weapon," Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said.

Gutierrez said to the court, "My bosom aches for the Hutchins household and friends and colleagues, arsenic well."

"Your honor, erstwhile I took connected 'Rust' I was young and I was naive. But I took my occupation arsenic earnestly arsenic I knew however to, contempt not having due time, resources and staffing, I conscionable did my champion to grip it," she said. "Today I humbly inquire you to see probation. ... I beg you, delight don't springiness maine much time."

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the erstwhile armorer astatine the movie "Rust," listens to closing arguments successful her proceedings astatine territory court, Wednesday, March 6, 2024, successful Santa Fe, N.M.

Luis Sánchez Saturno/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP, Pool, File

Gutierrez, dressed successful tan jailhouse clothes, watched connected arsenic Hutchins' friends addressed the tribunal earlier the condemnation was imposed.

Hutchins' person Jen White told the court, "I inactive look for her. I inactive expect to spot her. I inactive wonderment what adventures she's connected ... past my bosom drops done my feet."

"Halyna was a force," White said.

"She inspired me. And I don't deliberation she knew that due to the fact that I ne'er got to archer her. She was 1 of my favourite radical successful the world," White said, arsenic Gutierrez wiped distant tears.

White said if Gutierrez "had decently done her job, Halyna would inactive beryllium alive."

"I beg you to enforce the maximum sentence," White said to the judge. "She needs to beryllium held accountable."

"If situation clip is the lone mode she volition look immoderate work ... it should beryllium for arsenic agelong arsenic the instrumentality allows," White said.

Director Joel Souza, who was injured successful the shooting that killed Hutchins, told the justice that Hutchins "had a endowment for life."

Director of photography Halyna Hutchins was killed and manager Joel Souza was injured connected acceptable portion filming the movie "Rust" successful Santa Fe, N.M., connected Oct. 21, 2021.

"She was a touchstone for each who knew her. And those of america who were fortunate capable to person shared successful her fleeting clip connected this satellite are amended for it," helium said.

Hutchins' adjacent person and movie schoolhouse classmate, Emilia Mendieta, told the judge, "Someone didn't bash their occupation close -- a batch of someones."

"Why was a unrecorded slug connected set?" Mendieta said. "It was her occupation to cheque the guns, cheque the bullets and marque definite that the acceptable was safe."

"What I privation is alteration and justice," she said. "I privation those that had a manus successful her decease ... to look the consequences."

Hutchins' begetter said successful a connection work successful tribunal connected his behalf, "Each idiosyncratic liable ... needs to transportation the punishment that is adjacent to their guilt. Maybe, conscionable maybe, this mightiness forestall the aforesaid benignant of tragedies successful the aboriginal to others, and spare different parents from specified a heart-wrenching catastrophe."

The Santa Fe County assemblage deliberated for nether 3 hours connected March 6 earlier reaching a divided verdict. They recovered her blameworthy of involuntary manslaughter but acquitted her of tampering with grounds successful the case.

Prosecutors told jurors that Gutierrez "repeatedly" failed to support due firearm information and that her negligence led to the decease of Hutchins, who was changeable by histrion Alec Baldwin, portion the defence countered that the 26-year-old is simply a "convenient scapegoat" during closing arguments successful the trial.

Gutierrez was remanded into custody pursuing the verdict.

Defense attorneys filed an exigency question for a caller proceedings and merchandise past month, arguing that the assemblage instructions could pb to a non-unanimous verdict. The justice denied the motion.

In their sentencing memorandum, her attorneys argued that Gutierrez "has endured and volition proceed to endure collateral consequences acold harsher than astir defendants ever indispensable face."

"This condemnation and property deluge volition everlastingly interaction her beingness going forward, including with occupation prospects, and simply trying to pb a 'normal' beingness again someday," her attorneys wrote.

Gutierrez feels "incredibly saddened and heartbroken by what happened connected that tragic day" connected the "Rust" set, they wrote.

Her attorneys asked for a conditional discharge, wherein the tribunal would spot her connected probation without entering an adjudication of guilt. The defence argued conditional discharge would beryllium "adequate to punish the offense, but not much superior than indispensable to service the underlying sentencing goals."

In a effect filed past week, prosecutors said they opposed a conditional discharge owed to Gutierrez's "complete and full nonaccomplishment to judge work for her actions." They argued that her jailhouse calls since being incarcerated demonstrated that she "continues to contradict work and blasted others." They said the calls besides showed she has complained astir the antagonistic effects of the incidental "while ne'er expressing genuine remorse astatine immoderate time."

"Stunningly, Ms. Gutierrez requested during jailhouse calls that her ineligible squad petition that Ms. Hutchins' hubby and lad beryllium contacted and asked to talk connected her behalf astatine her sentencing," prosecutors wrote.

Prosecutors further noted that portion she is eligible for a conditional discharge, she inactive faces different felony complaint for allegedly hiding a firearm from information astatine a section bar.

The authorities asked that Gutierrez beryllium sentenced to 18 months with a designation of superior convulsive offender owed to her recklessness, oregon 5 years probation if the tribunal recovered that a suspended oregon deferred condemnation was appropriate.

Baldwin was practicing a cross-draw successful a religion connected the acceptable of the Western movie connected Oct. 21, 2021, erstwhile the Colt .45 revolver fired a unrecorded round, striking Hutchins and Souza.

During the two-week trial, prosecutors presented grounds they said showed Gutierrez was liable for bringing six unrecorded rounds onto the acceptable -- and did not observe them for 12 days earlier the deadly shooting by failing to execute industry-standard information practices.

"This is not a lawsuit wherever Hannah Gutierrez made 1 mistake, and that 1 mistake was accidental -- putting a unrecorded circular into that gun," authoritative Kari Morrissey told jurors during her closing argument. "This lawsuit is astir constant, neverending, information failures that resulted successful the decease of a quality being and astir killed another."

Morrissey told jurors Gutierrez failed to support firearms information connected the set, "making a fatal mishap willful and foreseeable."

She showed jurors stills of footage from the acceptable of actors pointing firearms astatine different unit members, including a insignificant actor, arsenic good arsenic Gutierrez pointing 1 astatine her ain face. She besides showed photographs of what experts determined to beryllium unrecorded rounds successful holsters and containers connected the acceptable arsenic aboriginal arsenic Oct. 10, 2021.

Morrissey said that meant Gutierrez was not checking dummy rounds to guarantee they were not unrecorded rounds -- specified arsenic by shaking them -- and that determination was a crippled of "Russian roulette" each clip an histrion had a weapon loaded with dummies. She besides said they person "mountains of circumstantial evidence" that Gutierrez brought the unrecorded rounds onto the set.

"I'm not telling you Hannah Gutierrez intended to bring unrecorded rounds connected set," Morrissey said. "I'm saying she was negligent, she was careless, she was thoughtless."

Hutchins died from nonaccomplishment of humor and a lethal coiled to her lung, Morrissey said.

"The astonishing deficiency of diligence with respect to weapon information is without question a important origin of the decease of Halyna Hutchins," she said.

Defense lawyer Jason Bowles said during his closing statement determination was a unreserved to judgement and that detectives didn't behaviour a thorough probe of the shooting. Gutierrez was made a "convenient autumn person," helium said.

He besides argued that the New Mexico Occupational Safety and Health Administration's probe into the shooting recovered that the absorption "demonstrated plain indifference to worker safety" and was liable for the information connected the set.

Gutierrez had additionally been charged with tampering with evidence, with prosecutors alleging she handed disconnected a tiny container of cocaine astatine her edifice connected the time of the shooting aft her interrogation with instrumentality enforcement. The assemblage recovered her not guilty.

Gutierrez did not attest successful her ain defense.

Baldwin has besides been charged with involuntary manslaughter successful Hutchins' death. His proceedings is scheduled to commencement successful July.

His attorneys past period filed a question to disregard the charge, accusing prosecutors of "unethical disparagement" of the histrion and "violating astir each regularisation successful the book" to unafraid a expansive assemblage indictment.

In a effect to the question filed earlier this month, prosecutors claimed Baldwin missed concerns astir Gutierrez and "compromised safety" connected the acceptable by demanding the unit and armorer enactment faster.

"The operation of Hannah Gutierrez's negligence and inexperience and Alec Baldwin's implicit deficiency of interest for the information of those astir him would beryllium deadly for Halyna Hutchins," prosecutors stated.

Marlowe Sommer has yet to regularisation connected the question to disregard the charge.

ABC News' Emily Shapiro, Aaron Katersky and Jenna Harrison contributed to this report.