Illinois Supreme Court overturns Jussie Smollett’s conviction in hate crime hoax
The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned Jussie Smollett’s conviction on charges that he staged and lied to the police about being the victim of a homophobic and racist hate crime in 2019.
The court ruled the actor should not have been prosecuted again after he had already reached a deal with prosecutors to resolve the case.
However, the ruling did not address whether Smollett was innocent of staging the hate crime, as he has continued to claim, overturning the conviction on the grounds that the second prosecution was a due process violation. “We are aware that this case has generated significant public interest and that many people were dissatisfied with the resolution of the original case and believed it to be unjust,” Justice Elizabeth Rochford wrote in the court’s 5-0 opinion, referring to the initial deal Smollett had reached. “Nevertheless, what would be more unjust than the resolution of any one criminal case would be a holding from this court that the state was not bound to honor agreements upon which people have detrimentally relied.” In 2019, the “Empire” star claimed he had been physically attacked by two men in a homophobic and racist hate crime.
He told Chicago police that they had put a noose around his neck, yelled slurs, and told him that he was in “MAGA country” during the attack.
