Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed launches appeal over fatal shooting conviction

A movie armourer convicted of involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin has launched an appeal.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed allowed a live bullet to be placed in the gun Baldwin was using on set on the set of the Western film Rust, which was then discharged, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Her defence has now filed an appeal while she serves an 18-month sentence at a New Mexico jail.

Her lawyers have 30 days to submit detailed arguments.

Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed for unwittingly bringing live ammunition on to the set of Rust, where it was expressly prohibited, and for failing to follow basic gun safety protocols.

A jury convicted her in state court in March.

Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer of the film, was pointing a gun at cinematographer Hutchins during a rehearsal when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.

Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter and says he pulled back the hammer - but not the trigger - and the gun fired.

His trial is expected to last eight days between July 10 2024 and July 19 2024.

Gutierrez-Reed was acquitted of an evidence tampering charge at trial, but still faces separate court proceedings on allegations she carried a firearm into a bar in Santa Fe.

A New Mexico judge last month found that Gutierrez-Reed's recklessness on the Rust set amounted to a serious violent offence, noting few indications of genuine remorse over the death of Ms Hutchins.

Gutierrez-Reed said at a sentencing hearing she had tried to do her best on the set despite not having "proper time, resources and staffing", and that she was not the monster that people have made her out to be.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said the maximum sentence was appropriate.