Jussie Smollett’s conviction in a 2019 hoax attack claim has now been overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court.
The former Empire actor made headlines around the world when he told police he had been attacked in Chicago, claiming that two men shouted homophobic and racist slurs, and strangled him around the neck.
Officials later accused the 42-year-old of paying two men to carry out the 2019 attack — initially, charges against him were dropped after he lost $10,000,
However, things changed when a special prosecutor refiled the charges in 2020, which resulted in Smollett being convicted the following year and sentenced to 150 days in prison.
Today, the Supreme Court announced that his conviction had been overturned after finding that his rights had been violated when the charges were brought against him even though they had been dropped.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the court’s opinion: ‘We understand that this case is of public interest and that many people are not satisfied with the resolution of the original case and believe that the case was unfair.
‘However, what would be more unfair than the resolution of one criminal case will hold from this court that the State is not bound to honor the agreement on which people have detrimentally depended.’
In response, special prosecutor Dan K Webb issued a statement to Metrowhich reads: ‘We are disappointed in the decision of the Illinois Supreme Court today to overturn Jussie Smollett’s conviction and sentence, including the award of over $120,000 in restitution to the City of Chicago for overtime expenses in investigating Mr. Smollett’s hate crime.
‘We disagree with the Court’s factual and legal reasoning that raises long-standing Illinois precedent. Indeed, the Special Prosecutor’s Brief to the Illinois Supreme Court is replete with Illinois case law that will not prevent another new prosecution after a dismissal without prejudice through not prosequi.
‘Even the Illinois Supreme Court agreed in its opinion that today’s holding is not explicit in previous Illinois decisions.’
‘Make no mistake – today’s verdict has nothing to do with Mr Smollett’s innocence,’ he continued.
‘The Illinois Supreme Court did not find any error with the overwhelming evidence presented at trial that Mr. Smollett organized a fake hate crime and reported it to the Chicago Police Department as a real hate crime, or the jury’s unanimous verdict that Mr. Smollett was guilty. five counts of criminal mischief.
‘In fact, Mr. Smollett did not even challenge the evidence against him on appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court.
‘Despite today’s decision, the City of Chicago remains able to pursue a pending civil lawsuit against Mr. Smollett to recover more than $120,000 in overtime costs incurred by the Chicago Police Department to investigate Mr. Smollett’s false hate crime.
‘Today’s verdict does not change how deeply proud I am of the work done by my Special Prosecutor’s office; nor does it undermine the jury’s verdict, and most importantly, it doesn’t clear Jussie Smollett’s name – he is innocent.’
In 2019, Smollett said he was attacked by two men wearing ski masks in Chicago, who allegedly told him he was in ‘MAGA country’ and grabbed his neck.
He was later arrested and accused of paying two men to carry out the attack, but he has maintained his innocence.
After a grueling trial, Smollett was convicted in 2021 and jailed the following year – he spent six days in jail for 150 sentences, and was ordered to pay a $145,000 fine.
Last December, he lost his appeal of the conviction when the Illinois Court of Appeals decided to uphold the conviction.
At that time, it was decided that he was not denied the process because of the legal battle, and that ‘again prosecuting is not fundamentally fair’, with a decision announced after a 2-1 vote.
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