Jussie Smollett’s conviction in the 2019 attack on himself has been overturned

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.
AP
—

The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor on Thursday Jussie Smollett conviction on charges that he staged a racist and homophobic attack on himself in downtown Chicago in 2019 and lied to police.

The that was decided by the state’s highest court that a special prosecutor should not have been allowed to intervene after the Cook County state’s attorney initially dropped charges against Smollett in exchange for forfeiting his $10,000 bond and performing community service. The ruling and appeal did not address Smollett’s continued claim of innocence.

Smollett, who is black and gay, claimed two men assaulted him, hurled racial and homophobic slurs and put a noose around his neck, prompting a massive manhunt for suspects by Chicago police detectives and sparking an international outcry . Smollett starred in the TV drama “Empire,” which was filmed in Chicago, and prosecutors alleged he staged the attack because he was unhappy with the studio’s response to hate mail he received.

“We recognize 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 unfair,” Judge Elizabeth Rochford wrote in the 5-0 decision. “Yet what would be more unjust than the resolution of a single criminal case would be a finding by this court that the state was not obligated to honor agreements upon which people have injuriously relied.”

Smollett’s attorneys have argued that the case was over when Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office the fall the first 16 cases of disorder. A grand jury reinstated the charges after a special prosecutor took the case. A jury convicted Smollett of five counts of disorderly conduct in 2021.

Emails seeking comment were sent Thursday to Foxx’s office and to Smollett’s attorney, who has argued that Smollett has been the victim of a racist and politicized justice system.

Testimony at his trial indicated that Smollett paid $3,500 to two men he knew from “Empire” to carry out the attack. Prosecutors said he told them what to shout, shouting that Smollett was in “MAGA land,” an apparent reference to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign slogan.

Smollett testified that “there was no hoax” and that he was the victim of a hate crime in his downtown Chicago neighborhood.

He was sentenced to 150 days in prison – six of which he served before he was sentenced released pending appeal – 30 months of probation and ordered to pay about $130,000 in restitution.

An appeals court ruling upheld Smollett’s conviction, stating that no one promised Smollett that he would not face a new prosecution after accepting the original deal.

Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis and Justice Joy Cunningham did not participate in Thursday’s decision.