I don't think I really need to cite sources for this one; the shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of 'Rust' is easily Googled.
It was ABSOLUTELY a terrible tragedy that was PREVENTABLE. I am in favour of those responsible being held accountable.
However, unless there is something exceedingly significant - not yet in the public domain - laying responsibility on Alec Baldwin is RIDICULOUS.
In the normal course of things the blame for a shooting lies utterly in the hands of the person holding the weapon. However, if that weapon is in the hands of an actor on a film set the situation is (IMHO) very different.
The gun was a PROP.
It was handed to him and declared COLD, defined as "a weapon that does not involve fire or explosions as a result from the use of gunpowder or other explosive materials." but in film set terms it refers to a firearm that is unloaded, including the use of explosive blanks. In other words, it should have been entirely safe. On social media I see, over and over, that any gun should be considered 'hot' but that's nonsense. Obviously, if you pick up a random gun you should treat it as if loaded but when it is handed to you and declared cold by the person responsible for it then it is frankly ludicrous to think it could be live.
Of course this did not turn out to be the case. But unless Baldwin tampered with the gun, loaded a live round himself, the responsibility is in the hands of the props department, specifically the armourer - in this instance Hannah Gutierrez Reed.
There are two similar cases which spring to mind:
Actor Jon-Erik Hexum (1957 - 1984) died after simulating Russian Roulette with a gun loaded with a single blank. Although there was no bullet the force of the explosive blank was enough to shatter his skull. He was subsequently declared brain-dead from his injury. The death was ruled accidental and his mother received an out-of-court settlement. By the logic being applied to the Rust incident it would instead have been ruled suicide as the gun was in his hands and he died by his own action, and the film company would likely have paid nothing.
Actor Brandon Lee (1965 - 1993) died after a prop gun fired by fellow actor Michael Massee (1952 - 2016) discharged an improperly made dummy round. Massee suffered enormous guilt over the incident; it was devastating to him. But there was NEVER any question that he was responsible for Lee's death. The incident was ruled an accident due to negligence and, again, Lee's mother received an undisclosed settlement against the filmmakers. In some regard this *might* hold Baldwin accountable - he was not merely an actor but producer; Rust was his passion project. But all the same it was not his job to ensure gun safety on set. Unless he was personally responsible for hiring Gutierrez Reed (and Baldwin was only one of SIX producers), and assuming whoever she was hired by could possibly have known she wasn't competent in the role, it is hard to see how blame falls specifically on him.
On social media armchair experts declare that Baldwin should have ensured that the gun was at no time pointing at anyone... do they not understand that on film sets there are people everywhere?! And whether Baldwin put the gun to his own head like Hexum or deliberately fired it during a take like Massee the gun SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCAPABLE OF DOING HARM.
This is a dangerous precedent to set. Regardless of your line of work if you are using a machine or piece of equipment and it malfunctions or had been improperly maintained that should be on the shoulders of the person whose job it was to ensure its safety. Under this logic any one of us could be held accountable for a workplace accident for the failure of something the safety of which is not our responsibility. Obviously there's a good and valid argument for due care and attention but this is almost on a par with pointing a stapler at someone and it firing a bullet and killing them - you simply can't get away from the fact that the stapler should not have bullets in it! You shouldn't be expected to assume the stapler is a loaded lethal weapon.
It's a horrible thing to say but I'm glad Michael Massee is dead. Watching this unfold would have utterly destroyed him.
