US actor
Jussie Smollett’s verdict overturned after staged attack
There was a lot of controversy in the case of an alleged attack that US actor Jussie Smollett is said to have faked. To this day we still don’t really understand him.
US actor Jussie Smollett was found guilty of five counts of disturbing public order in December 2021. A court in Chicago later sentenced Smollett to 150 days in prison, 30 months probation and a fine equivalent to around 110,000 euros. That ruling was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday (November 21).
The former star of the series “Empire” claimed in 2019 that he had been physically attacked, beaten and given homophobic and racist insults on the street. The alleged attackers are said to have identified themselves as supporters of Donald Trump and put a noose around his neck.
The case later took a surprising turn. According to investigations, Smollett is said to have paid men to carry out the attack. The prosecution accused him of wanting to increase his popularity with the campaign. The 42-year-old ended up in court for making false statements and disturbing the public peace. Smollett had always denied the allegations. The public prosecutor unexpectedly dropped the case in May 2019. All Smollett had to do was complete community service and pay $10,000. A special prosecutor reopened the case in 2020, the actor had to go back to court and was convicted.
Jussie Smollett – Verdict has nothing to do with innocence
In December 2023, an appeals court rejected the actor’s appeal. It was decided that he must complete his entire sentence, of which he only served six days, before being released pending an appeal. Earlier this year, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to hear his appeal.
In a statement released Thursday, the court said the special prosecutor’s decision to retry Smollett violated his rights, according to Variety. The prosecutor emphasized in a statement: “Today’s verdict has nothing to do with Mr. Smollett’s innocence.” The Illinois Supreme Court found no error in the evidence “presented at trial that Mr. Smollett staged a fake hate crime and reported it to the Chicago Police Department as a real hate crime, or in the jury’s unanimous verdict that Mr Smollett is guilty of five counts of disorderly conduct. In fact, Mr. Smollett “did not even challenge the sufficiency of the evidence against him” in his appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court.
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Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
