Jussie Smollett’s hate crime fraud conviction overturned by Illinois Supreme Court

Jussie Smollett, the former Empire actor, who was convicted in 2021 of staging a hate crime against himself in 2019, has had that conviction overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court. The court ruled that since Smollett had negotiated a deal when similar charges were filed in 2019, prosecutors violated due process by retrying him two years later.

The case began in January 2019, when Smollett reported to the Chicago Police Department that he had been the victim of a racist and homophobic attack. Two suspects were released from custody after telling police that Smollett had paid them to stage the attack, leading to a 16-count grand jury indictment against Smollett.

Prosecutors dropped the case when Smollett agreed to forfeit his $10,000 bail and do community service, but in 2021 the case was revived amid public outcry. The second time he was convicted on six counts and sentenced to 150 days in jail. Six days later he was released again so he could take the case to the Illinois Appeals Court. That court affirmed the conviction before the case was escalated to the Illinois Supreme Court, where Judge Elizabeth M. Rochford reversed the conviction. Smollett pleaded not guilty to the charges in both cases.

Nenye Uche, a lawyer for Smollett, said in a statement reported by New York Times“We are grateful to the Illinois Supreme Court for restoring order to Illinois criminal jurisprudence.”