The Illinois Supreme Court ruled on Thursday to overturn actor Jussie Smollett’s convictions for falsely reporting a hate crime to police in 2019.
In 2021, Smollett was found guilty of five counts of disorderly conduct for falsely telling Chicago police that two men dumped bleach on him and put a noose around his neck in an apparent racist and homophobic attack. According to the Chicago Tribune, the high court ruled that a controversial deal offered by then-State’s Attorney Kim Foxx meant Smollett should not have been prosecuted in this case.
Under the deal, Smollett forfeited his $10,000 bond and completed community service. Prosecutors, in turn, dropped the charges against Smollett a month after its filing.
READ: ‘Empire’ Actor Jussie Smollett Fails to Get Jail Sentence Overturned in Hate Crime Hoax
The Chicago Tribune reported that Foxx recused herself from the case a day before the Cook County state’s attorney’s office refiled the charges against Smollett.
“Finally, it defies credulity to believe that defendant would agree to forfeit $10,000 with the understanding that CCSAO could simply reindict him the following day,” the state’s supreme court wrote, reversing an appeals court ruling.
Prosecutors said Smollett paid $3,500 to brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, who are Black, to stage the apparent hate crime assault. Smollett was convicted and ordered to serve 150 days in jail and pay $130,000 in restitution.
Though he started his sentence late last year, he was released from jail while he appealed his case. His attorneys contended that Smollett agreeing to forfeit his $10,000 bond was part of a non-prosecutorial deal — meaning the conviction falls under double jeopardy. The state claimed that prosecutors are allowed to drop and refile charges, which is what happened in this case.
“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 state supreme court wrote. “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.”
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[Feature Photo: Cook County Jail]
