Jussie Smollett’s hate crime hoax conviction overturned in shock ruling | EUROtoday

The newest headlines from our reporters throughout the US despatched straight to your inbox every weekday

Your briefing on the most recent headlines from throughout the US

Your briefing on the most recent headlines from throughout the US

Empire star Jussie Smollett’s controversial conviction on costs that he staged a racist and homophobic assault in opposition to himself and lied to police has been overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court.

The actor, who’s Black and homosexual, claimed two males assaulted him, spouted racial and homophobic slurs, and tossed a noose round his neck in downtown Chicago, whereas he was filming the tv drama in 2019.

Cook County state’s legal professional initially dropped the 16 costs of disorderly conduct in opposition to Smollett after he carried out neighborhood service and forfeited a $10,000 bond – closing the case.

However, a particular prosecutor appointed to look into why the case was dropped later concluded there have been “substantial abuses of discretion” within the state’s legal professional workplace through the earlier spherical, and a grand jury subsequently restored costs in opposition to Smollett in 2020.

Testimony at his trial alleged Smollett paid $3,500 to 2 males he knew from Empire to hold out the assault. Prosecutors stated he informed them what slurs to shout and to yell that Smollett was in “MAGA country,” a reference to Donald Trump’s presidential marketing campaign slogan.

open picture in gallery

Prosecutors alleged the actor staged the assault as a result of he was sad with the studio’s response to hate mail he acquired whereas filming Empire.

In his personal testimony Smollett stated that “there was no hoax” and that he was the sufferer of a hate crime in his downtown Chicago neighborhood. He has all the time maintained his innocence.

Despite this, a jury convicted him of 5 counts of disorderly conduct in 2021. He was sentenced to 150 days in jail — six of which he served earlier than he was freed pending enchantment — 30 months of probation and ordered to pay about $130,000 in restitution.

In December 2023 an appeals courtroom upheld the conviction, declaring that nobody promised Smollett he wouldn’t face a recent prosecution after accepting the unique deal.

The Illinois Supreme Court agreed to listen to the case in March 2024, with the shock ruling returned on Thursday.

“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,” the opinion stated.

“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.”

Smollett’s attorneys beforehand argued that the actor had been victimized by a racist and politicized justice system.