We’ve got a shocking, celebrity gossip follower.
On Thursday afternoon, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Jussie Smollett … the veteran actor, who was previously found guilty of false reporting a hate crime following a very high-profile incident in 2019.
At the time the crime was allegedly committed, Smollett was a lead actor in the Fox drama Empire.
He claimed more than four years ago that he was the victim of a homophobic and racist attack, but in December 2021 he was found guilty of being a substantive liar.
He was found guilty of five counts of misleading police about the incident and falsifying an official report.
At the time, prosecutors successfully argued in court that two people Smollett — who is black and gay — had paid to stage the show. Fake Attack to get sympathetic media coverage.
Smollett told police after the incident that two unidentified men made racist and homophobic comments at him… who also poured bleach on him and wrapped a noose around his neck.
Smollett had challenged nearly every aspect of his case, first alleging that the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office struck a controversial deal to drop the charges in February 2019, just a month after Smollett was convicted. After which his legal problems should have been resolved.
According to the state’s highest court this week, the agreement should have prevented Smollett from being charged with the same crime by a court-appointed special prosecutor a year later.
In a 5–0 opinion, with two justices absent, Justice Elizabeth M. Rochford wrote that Smollett’s due process rights were violated in the second case because he had returned his $10,000 bond and performed community service. Had previously met the requirements of the plea deal.
“We recognize that this case has generated significant public interest and that many people were dissatisfied with the resolution of the original case and considered it unjust,” Rochford wrote in a 32-page decision.
“Nevertheless, what would be more unjust than the resolution of any one criminal case would be this Court’s finding that the State is not bound to honor agreements upon which people have harmfully relied.”
Special Prosecutor Dan Webb said in a later statement that he was disappointed by the court’s decision.
“Make no mistake – today’s verdict has nothing to do with Mr. Smollett’s innocence,” Webb said.
“The Illinois Supreme Court found no error in the overwhelming evidence presented at trial that Mr. Smollett committed a simulated hate crime and reported it to the Chicago Police Department as an actual hate crime, or in the jury’s unanimous verdict that Was Mr. Smollett. Guilty of five counts of gross disorderly conduct.”
Smollett served six days of a five-month prison sentence in 2022, before being released to await his appeals.