Jussie Smollett’s Conviction Overturned in Alleged Hate Crime Hoax by Illinois Supreme Court

A deal’s a deal, and that means Jussie Smollett’s conviction in the hate crime hoax case is now reversed, and he cannot be tried again.

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. In December 2023, his bid for an appeal was denied.

“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.”

via: Variety

IL State’s Attorney Kim Fox struck a plea deal with the actor, requiring him to forfeit his $10,000 bond, and do 15 hours of volunteer community service. The court’s ruling says because Jussie held up his end of the deal — he actually did 18 hours of service — he should not have been subject to a second prosecution.

“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. Nevertheless, what would be more unjust than the resolution of any one criminal case would be a… pic.twitter.com/adz73d3KSV

— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) November 21, 2024