Source: Steven Ferdman / Getty
Jussie Smollett‘s holiday season is off to a fine start. The former Empire star’s conviction for attacking himself back in 2019 has been overturned.
The Illinois State Supreme Court has overturned Jussie Smollett’s conviction for lying about a hate crime.
His case will be dismissed.
“We hold that a second prosecution under these circumstances is a due process violation, and we therefore reverse defendant’s conviction.” pic.twitter.com/Z6RohP8KJK
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) November 21, 2024
On Thursday (Nov. 21), the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Smollett should never have been prosecuted for a second time. The initial charges against him had been dropped after a sort of plea deal with the DA.
Smollett was charged with filing a false police report after he had claimed that he was the victim of a homophobic and racist attack. Soon after the story made headlines, his alleged tale started falling apart with the attackers (two brothers) coming forward to say that they had actually been hired by the actor to perform the hoax for a smooth $3,500. Nevertheless, a dismissal was negotiated with the Cook County state’s attorney.
However, a special prosecutor revived the case, and a grand jury restored charges that included disorderly conduct and lying to the police. Smollett continued to insist that he was innocent throughout the trial but he was eventually convicted on five counts of disorderly conduct in 2021.
Although Smollett was sentenced to about five months in jail, he only served six days and was released pending appeal. Now, he’s in the clear.
While Smollett entered a rehab facility in late 2023, most recently he wrote and produced a new film called The Lost Holliday which he also starred in. Peep social media reactions, MAGA is big mad, again, to Smollett’s latest news in the gallery.