Actor Jussie Smollett's conviction for staged hate crime attack gets overturned

Washington DC - Actor Jussie Smollett's conviction for fabricating a racist and homophobic hate crime in 2019 was overturned Thursday by the Illinois Supreme Court on due process grounds.

Actor Jussie Smollett's conviction for fabricating a racist and homophobic hate crime in 2019 was overturned Thursday by the Illinois Supreme Court on due process grounds.
Actor Jussie Smollett's conviction for fabricating a racist and homophobic hate crime in 2019 was overturned Thursday by the Illinois Supreme Court on due process grounds.  © Steven Ferdman / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

The gay 42-year-old African-American claimed in January 2019 that he was attacked by two masked men on a Chicago street who shouted slurs at him and placed a noose around his neck.

The claim prompted a police operation to find the assailants and an outpouring of public outrage.

Prosecutors later charged him with 16 felonies, alleging that he had staged the assault and paid two Nigerian brothers $3,500 to carry it out.

Democratic staffer arrested for bringing ammunition to the Capitol
Justice Democratic staffer arrested for bringing ammunition to the Capitol

However, those charges were dropped in March 2019 under an arrangement in which Smollett forfeited his $10,000 bond and agreed to do community service.

Several charges were later reinstated after a special prosecutor took over the case, and Smollett was found guilty by a jury in December 2021.

He was sentenced to 150 days in prison, but was granted release pending his appeal.

The state's high court ruled Thursday that bringing the charges a second time after "the defendant has performed his part of the bargain" represented "a due process violation."

"We therefore reverse defendant’s conviction," the ruling said.

Cover photo: Steven Ferdman / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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