The Illinois Supreme Court reversed Jussie Smollett‘s conviction for lying to police about a hate crime hoax. The stunning decision on Thursday morning overturns an appeals court ruling in 2022 that upheld Smollett’s 2021 conviction.
The Illinois Supreme Court found that a special prosecutor violated the “Empire” actor’s rights by indicting him after the Cook County state’s attorney’s office previously dropped all charges against him.
“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 justices said in their opinion. “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 faced a maximum of 10 years in prison for wasting Chicago police resources on a hate crime hoax in 2019. Smollett claimed he was ambushed and beaten by 2 Trump supporters while walking to a Subway restaurant in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood on Jan. 29, 2019.
He claimed that two White men attacked him in the Loop, hitting him, yelling homophobic slurs and placing a noose around his neck.
But Chicago police noted that the Subway sandwich Smollett held in his hand was pristine and intact.
An investigation eventually uncovered a conspiracy between Smollett and 2 African brothers he hired to attack him that night.
The brothers testified against Smollett in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
A jury convicted Smollett of five of six counts of disorderly conduct in December of 2021 for lying to the police. Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail, 30 months of probation and $130,160 in restitution.
