Rust armourer trial – live: Court hears closing arguments in Alec Baldwin shooting

Kari Morrisey giving the closing for the state.

She shows a photo of Halyna Hutchins to the court.

“We end exactly as we began, in the pursuit of justice for Halyna Hutchins,” she says.

The defence rests in the Hannah Gutierrez-Reed trial following one last witness this morning.

The judge is now reading jury instructions to the jurors.

Closing arguments by both sides will follow before the jury is sent out to deliberate – which could be as early as this afternoon.

Prosecution is cross examining Pesce, who clarifies that anyone can call cut on set, including Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

It was mentioned that Gutierrez-Reed was not inside the church at the time of the shooting. She was out performing other armorer duties.

On redirect from defence, Pesce says that if there is a firearm on set, the armorer should also be on set. He is excused and the defence rests.

Pesce testified that there is a hotline crew members can call if they feel a set isn’t safe. But it’s something people often do.

“If you report something, you could put your career in jeopardy, and no one wants to do that,” he said.

Pesce told the court on Wednesday that he has never worked a film where an armorer had to split duties as a prop master.

In order to maintain a safe set, he said it’s not only advisable but recommended to have daily safety meetings.

He also testified that weapons need to be tracked consistently.

The judge discussed with the court what to expect next in today’s proceedings.

• Defence will present its last witness
• Closing arguments 
• Judge will read jury instructions
• Alternates will be pulled aside and thanked for their tim

P.J. Pesce is the last witness to take the stand for the defence.

Mr Pesce, who is a writer and director is telling the jury about the movies he’s worked on, specifically movie sets where firearms were used.

Proceedings will shortly begin in the high-profile trial of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armourer on the set of the film “Rust”, who faces involuntary manslaughter charges in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

There was a lengthy delay this morning as both sides argued over closing arguments and jury instructions.

The State had concern over the defence team’s closing argument language they plan to use about the improper intubation of Halyna Hutchins, NBC’s Dana Griffin reported from the courtroom.

This portion of the trial was not being live streamed.

The State wanted to prevent the jury from hearing that improper intubation could have been a cause of her death. A doctor testified that the cause of death was the gunshot.

There was also an issue over the jury instructions.

The State wanted to mention that jurors have to be unanimous on the involuntary manslaughter charge but not unanimous on the three alternative theories.

The defence objected and say the jurors have to be unanimous on the theory.

The judge ruled that the jury instructions as they stand are sufficiently correct.

“We do not need anonymity on the theory.”

Court is taking a break before the jury is brought in.

The defence team is expected to rest this morning followed by closing arguments.

The jury could have the case as soon as this afternoon.

The trial of Alec Baldwin, who is facing manslaughter charges in the shooting death of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, will begin on 9 July with jury selection.

Opening statements by special prosecutors and the actor’s defense attorneys will take place the following day, and proceedings are expected to last eight days.

Baldwin, the lead actor and a co-producer on the film, pleaded not guilty in January, the day before he was scheduled to be arraigned.

A grand jury had indicted him after prosecutors received a new analysis of the revolver he was using during filming, renewing a charge that prosecutors originally filed and then dismissed in April 2023.