Jussie Smollett’s conviction for lying about a racist and homophobic attack in 2019 has been overturned by the highest court in the state of Illinois.
The Illinois Supreme Court voted to dismiss the case altogether — essentially making Smollett a free man — because the “Empire” actor was charged with the same crime twice.
In a statement, the high court ruled 5-0 that the Smollett case should have concluded in August 2019 after Illinois state attorney Kim Foxx initially dropped 16 counts of disorderly conduct. In exchange for dismissing the case, Foxx ordered Smollett to forfeit his $10,000 bond and perform community service.
However, in 2020, a special prosecutor was commissioned to convene a grand jury, which indicted Smollett on the same charges, eventually leading to a conviction on five counts of disorderly conduct in 2021.
The judge in that trial famously harangued Smollett with a humiliating lecture before sentencing the actor to 150 days in jail, 30 months of probation, and ordered to pay about $130,000 in restitution to the city of Chicago. Smollett was freed after serving six days pending an appeal.
The Illinois Supreme Court gives its reasoning for dropping the case
The Supreme Court of Illinois says the second set of charges should not have been allowed to be filed.
“We are aware that this case has generated significant public interest and that many people were dissatisfied with the resolution of the original case and believed it to be unjust,” Justice Elizabeth Rochford wrote in the 5-0 decision, according to the Associated Press. “Nevertheless, what would be more unjust than the resolution of any one criminal case would be a holding from this court that the state was not bound to honor agreements upon which people have detrimentally relied.”
This long-running debacle began in February 2019 when Smollett told Chicago police that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack by two white men in the middle of the night. He also said the MAGA supporters spouted the N-word as they poured bleach on him and put a noose around his neck. The news caused an international uproar and spurred law enforcement to devote many man-hours and resources to track down the alleged perpetrators of this hate crime.
However, prosecutors alleged during the trial that Smollett staged the attack because he was incensed with the studio’s lack of outrage at the barrage of hate mail he received on the set of “Empire.”
Eventually, investigators concluded that Smollett hired two Nigerian-American extras from “Empire” to help manufacture the faux attack and arrested Smollett.
Many fans are enraged that Smollett is a free man
Many folks on social media are irate that Smollett gets to walk away from the case without serving any more time.
