'Rust' Prosecutor Objects To A New Trial For Incarcerated Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed

"Rust" special prosecutor Kari Morrissey does not want armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to get a new trial after she was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year.

Both Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and actor Alec Baldwin were facing charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

In July, the charges against Baldwin were dropped after the judge ruled that the prosecutor and police officers did not turn over evidence to the defense and had even attempted to bury it by filing it under a different case number.

In light of this misconduct, special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson resigned and the judge dismissed the charges against Baldwin with prejudice, meaning that he can no longer face criminal charges for the death of Halyna Hutchins. He is still facing multiple civil lawsuits related to the October 2021 shooting along with other "Rust" producers.

The week after the judge dropped the state's case against Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's lawyer, Jason Bowles, filed a motion to get her a new trial, alleging that the same misconduct that happened during Baldwin's trial likely happened in their trial as well.

Last week, the New Mexico Court of Appeals granted a motion allowing the First Judicial District Court to rule on her request for a new trial, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. However, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey does not believe that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is entitled to a new trial.

On Friday, Kari Morrissey responded to the motion with a brief filing, stating that the armorer's motion for release “is premature given that the court has yet to receive completed briefing on the defendant’s motion for new trial, hear arguments on the defendant’s motion and rule on the motion in defendant’s favor,” according to the Associated Press.

Although Jason Bowles also filed for an appeal following her guilty verdict, he feels that the 27-year-old armorer should be given a new trial, given that Kari Morrissey had been part of the conversation with law enforcement officials to place new evidence under a different case number and did not mention it to the defense.

The lack of disclosure around the new evidence led special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson to resign from the case on the third day of the trial, only hours before Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed Baldwin's case with prejudice. She is, however, also the same judge who sentenced Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to the state maximum of 18 months behind bars.

On July 12, within the space of only a few hours, special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson resigned, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case against Alec Baldwin, and Johnson was featured in an interview with Chris Cuomo on NewsNation to talk about the unexpected outcome of the trial. She also explained why she decided to step away from the trial.

"We have an obligation as prosecutors, we have an obligation not only to the people, but to the defendant and our obligation is to make sure that all the evidence is turned over," she explained. "We don't get to decide what the defense is going to be. Our job is to ensure transparency and to ensure that the defendant has everything that the prosecution has gathered. What they do with it, that's up to them.”

Describing her ethical and moral obligations to the case, Johnson said that the two are "not that different." She went on to say, "And so when I see that something isn't right, and when I see that the law isn't followed, I don't care who you are, where you are, you make the right decision. And for me, the right decision was to walk up to the judge and ask to be allowed to withdraw before that circus of a hearing got underway."

Johnson claimed that she learned about the new evidence at the same time as the defense when a crime scene technician testified to its existence on the second day of the trial. During the interview, Johnson told Cuomo that she "learned about this evidence when the public learned about it yesterday, late afternoon."

It is unlikely that Erlinda Johnson will be involved in Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's attempt at a new trial, as she was not involved in the one that occurred earlier this year. Johnson admitted that she resigned from Alec Baldwin's case based on her "evaluation of the evidence that I was privy to" but still felt that the "30 Rock" actor did "engage in some horseplay with this gun" that could have led the jury to return with a guilty verdict, had the trial made it that far.

"You don't use another person as a target, as a human target, so that could potentially be reckless," she said. "And so, you know, he wasn't charged with intentional homicide. There's no question for me, there's no question Mr. Baldwin did not intend to do this. But the question is, was there wanton and recklessness and so that's why I did believe in the case. I had no idea that this other evidence had not been turned over."