Jussie Smollett Gets Hate Crime Conviction Reversed By Illinois Supreme Court

Source: Steven Ferdman / Getty

Actor/singer Jussie Smollett can finally put his legal troubles behind him as the Illinois Supreme Court decided to reverse his 2021 conviction for staging a hate crime.

As reported by WGN-TV, the former Empire star took his case to the IL Supreme Court in September in a last-ditch effort to have his conviction overturned. His previous attempt was denied by the Appellate Court of Illinois in December of last year.

The IL Supreme Court announced its decision in a statement on Thursday (Nov. 21).

“Today we resolve a question about the State’s responsibility to honor the agreements it makes with defendants. Specifically, we address whether a dismissal of a case by nolle prosequi allows the State to bring a second prosecution when the dismissal was entered as part of an agreement with the defendant and the defendant has performed his part of the bargain. We hold that a second prosecution under these circumstances is a due process violation, and we therefore reverse defendant’s conviction.”

Smollett was convicted of falsely reporting a hate crime against him in 2019. The actor, who is openly gay, alleged that his attackers yelled racist and homophobic slurs at him. He also alleged that the men hung a noose around his neck.

Testimony at his trial revealed that Smollett paid two brothers $3,500 to stage the attack. Smollett was ultimately found guilty of five counts of disorderly conduct.

However, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx initially dropped his 16 charges back in 2019, before his conviction. The initial dismissal serves as the basis for the Supreme Court’s decision this week.

Foxx, who recused herself after communicating with one of Smollett’s relatives during the probe, reiterated that she welcomed an independent investigation into how her office handled the case. The investigation started in August 2019, when Judge Michael Toomin appointed former U.S. attorney Dan Webb as special prosecutor.

Webb led the case the second time, which led to Smollett’s conviction in December 2019.

He was sentenced to 150 days in jail, 30 months probation, and ordered to pay over $130,000 in restitution. So far, Smollett only served 6 days of that sentence.

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