In a surprise move on Thursday, Jussie Smollett‘s conviction in an alleged hate crime hoax was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court.
Smollett was originally convicted back in December 2021 of five felony counts of disorderly conduct for his participation in allegedly staging a hate crime against himself in 2019.
The matter became national news, and Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in county jail, 30 months of probation, and ordered to pay $130,000 in restitution. Smollett would go on to appeal his case, and earlier this year, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to hear it.
In their opinion, which was released earlier this morning, the Illinois Supreme Court found that Smollett should not have been charged after he entered a nonprosecution agreement with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. The group called the resolution of the original case “unjust” and said that even though it did generate “significant public interest,” that wouldn’t stop them from ruling.
“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 opinion reads. “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.”
What happened to Jussie Smollett?
Smollett told police that he was attacked outside of his Chicago apartment building by two men in January 2019. According to Smollett at the time, the two men called him racist and homophobic slurs and placed a noose around his neck. After conducting an investigation into the matter, police alleged that Smollett had paid two people to stage the assault.
In March 2019, all charges were dropped against Smollett after the Cook County Attorney’s Office reached a deal with Smollett’s defense team. However, after controversy sparked up due to the decision, another inquiry was made with a special prosecutor which resulted in another indictment for Smollett in 2020, leading to the charges that were overturned today.