Posted on 11/21/2024 8:16:54 AM PST by yesthatjallen
Jussie Smollett‘s conviction in an alleged hate crime hoax was overturned on Thursday by the Illinois Supreme Court.
The “Empire” actor was convicted in December 2021 of five felony counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly staging a hate crime against himself and was sentenced the following year to 150 days in county jail. In December 2023, his bid for an appeal was denied and it was ruled that he would have to serve his full sentence. He spent six days in jail while his appeal was pending.
In January 2019, Smollett told police he was attacked outside of his Chicago apartment building by two men who called him racist and homophobic slurs and placed a noose around his neck. After an investigation, the police alleged that Smollett had paid two acquaintances to stage the assault and a grand jury charged him with a Class 4 felony for filing a false police report. In March 2019, all charges were dropped after the state attorney reached a deal with his defense team. However, following controversy over dropping the charges, prosecutor Kim Foxx asked the state of Illinois to conduct a separate inquiry into the matter with a special prosecutor, who then indicted Smollett again in February 2020. In November 2021, the trial against Smollett began and he was found guilty in December.
SNIP
(Excerpt) Read more at variety.com ...
Double Jeopardy.
The earlier pleas deal was a completed prosecution.
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