Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Update: Convicted “Rust” Armorer Wins Significant Legal Victory

A New Mexico judge has scheduled a hearing in September for Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, which could determine whether she is set free or granted a new trial. This development follows the tragic on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021.

In March, the 27-year-old Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for her role in the incident and is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence. Her legal team has been working to overturn her conviction, especially after Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter charges were dismissed last month.

The upcoming hearing, set for September 27 at 3:30 p.m. EST, will be conducted online and live-streamed on the New Mexico Courts YouTube channel. The court will consider Gutierrez-Reed’s motion for immediate release from detention and her request for a new trial or dismissal of the case. Newsweek has reached out to her legal representatives for further comment.

Gutierrez-Reed has admitted to loading the gun that discharged the fatal bullet but has consistently denied bringing live ammunition onto the set. While a 12-person jury found her not guilty of evidence tampering—specifically, allegations of giving a crew member a bag of cocaine—they did convict her of involuntary manslaughter.

Jason Bowles, Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney, has argued that his client is being unfairly targeted as a scapegoat in the case. “They’re trying to blame it all on Hannah, a 24-year-old,” Bowles said previously. “Why? Because she’s an easy target. She’s the least powerful person on that set.”

Last month, a judge dismissed the charges against Baldwin, citing the suppression of evidence by the prosecution. In response to this dismissal, Bowles swiftly filed a motion seeking Gutierrez-Reed’s release. He also accused special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey of withholding crucial evidence ahead of Gutierrez-Reed’s trial, which he claims violated her due process rights.

“There can be no legitimate debate that the state violated Ms. Gutierrez’s due process rights,” Bowles wrote in his motion, urging the judge to either order a new trial or dismiss the case entirely due to what he called “egregious prosecutorial misconduct.” Bowles also called for Gutierrez-Reed’s immediate release.

As Gutierrez-Reed awaits her hearing, Baldwin took to Instagram last month to express his relief over his case’s conclusion. Sharing a photo of himself in the courtroom, he wrote, “There are too many people who have supported me to thank just now. To all of you, you will never know how much I appreciate your kindness toward my family.”

Rust writer-director Joel Souza, who was also injured in the incident, spoke about the tragedy for the first time in an interview with Vanity Fair. Souza shared his thoughts on the future use of firearms on movie sets, saying, “My recommendation is this: that no guns should ever be allowed. Nothing real that can fire anything. It should all be fake from here on to eternity. And there should still be armorers even because it’s fake because they’re still not safe unless there’s an armorer.”