True that.
Judge James Linn noted he had two sentencing options: either a probationary period with up to 180 days in jail, or up to three years in prison.......Smollett received the best deal available to him.
.......... the judge recounted the numerous factors he believed made the case reprehensible: that Smollett had planned the hoax so meticulously, the negative impact it could have on real victims of hate crimes, the waste of law enforcement time and resources to investigate it, and Smollett’s own testimony that the judge said ‘can only be described as pure perjury.’
“The sentence can be justified by Smollett’s lack of prior criminal history and other mitigation filed by his attorneys, particularly letters of support from prominent social justice and community leaders,” Keegan continued. “As he was brought into custody to begin his sentence, Smollett shouted that he is innocent but not suicidal, so any harm that may come to him while in custody will not be self-inflicted.”