The actor Massee pulled the trigger, but Massee would not be guilty of anything. The crew had messed up and combined an improperly made dummy round with a blank round. The dummy round pushed the bullet into the barrel, and then the blank round fired the bullet. Not only was the dummy round improperly made, but there was no check of the gun barrel before the blank round was used.
Gun laws have been tightened in California. Exceptions were made for studios, but only if they were willing to take criminal liability. Failing to follow proper safety is a crime, and would be prosecuted as such. Failing to follow proper safety causes a death is prosecuted now as manslaughter.
Again, not the actor's fault. Neither Lee nor Massee have any blame in this. It is the prop people who are supposed to make sure the guns are safe that are to blame.
Bookmarks