Op-Ed: The anguish of unintentional killing — and how Alec Baldwin can learn to cope with it

Alec Baldwin, shown in New York on Sept. 12, said on Twitter on Friday that he had “no words” to convey his “shock and sadness” after he fired a prop gun on the set of the film “Rust,” killing the film’s cinematographer. By his own account, Baldwin is traumatized, in the grip of shock, grief and guilt after firing a prop gun Thursday on the New Mexico set of the film “Rust,” killing the film’s cinematographer and injuring the director. In a statement on Twitter on Friday, Baldwin wrote, “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours.” Those who care about him are probably trying to relieve his distress by saying things that may be true but are beside the point such as “it wasn’t your fault,” or “it was just an accident.” The fact is, he was the agent of terrible harm. Instead, there is value in “moral repair,” when we acknowledge the harm we caused, learn to treat ourselves with compassion rather than contempt and recognize the potential to live a virtuous life going forward, according to Matthew Gray, a professor of psychology at the University of Wyoming who has researched the subject.