Jussie Smollett Has Conviction in Hate Crime Case Overturned
Jussie Smollett has had his conviction his his hate crime hoax case overturned, TVGrapevine has learned.
The Empire alum alleged that he was attacked in January 2019 by two men who he claimed put a noose on his neck and threw what he believed to be bleach on him, all while screening homophobic and racist slurs.
It was later confirmed to be a hoax and the two men in question were hired by the On Our Own star to attack him.
According to AP News, “The state’s highest court ruled 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 conducting community service.”
Special prosecutor Kim Foxx later requested that he be convicted on five felony counts and sentenced to 150 days in county jail. The Illinois Supreme Court then decided that this decision violated his rights.
“Today we resolve a question about the State’s responsibility to honor the agreements it makes with defendants,” Illinois Supreme Court said in documents, as per Fox News. “Specifically, we address whether a dismissal of a case by nolle prosequi allows the State to bring a second prosecution when the dismissal was entered as part of an agreement with the defendant and the defendant has performed his part of the bargain. We hold that a second prosecution under these circumstances is a due process violation, and we therefore reverse defendant’s conviction.”
This is a developing story.
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