Jussie Smollett’s Conviction Overturned in Alleged Hate Crime Hoax

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, plus 30 months of probation and $130,000 in restitution. In December 2023, a state appellate court rejected his bid for an appeal and it was ruled that he would have to complete his full sentence, six days of which he served before being freed pending appeal. Earlier this year, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to hear his appeal.

In an opinion released on Thursday (via the Chicago Tribune), the Illinois Supreme Court found that a special prosecutor’s decision to retry Smollett violated his rights.

“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,” the court’s opinion reads, according to the Chicago Tribune. “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 January 2019, Smollett told police he was attacked outside 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 Cook County state’s attorney reached a deal with his defense team that included Smollett taking part in community service and forfeiting a $10,000 bond. However, following controversy over dropping the charges, the state of Illinois conducted a separate investigation 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 the next month.

Besides “Empire,” Smollett is known for starring in “The Mighty Ducks” as a child and had roles in the films “Alien: Covenant” and “Marshall” and series “The Mindy Project” and “Revenge.” Despite his legal issues, this year Smollett directed, co-wrote and starred in drama “The Lost Holliday” alongside Vivica A. Fox.