![Jussie Smollett Loses Appeal For Hate Crime Hoax, 150 Day Jail Sentence Upheld By Illinois Court Jussie Smollett Loses Appeal For Hate Crime Hoax, 150 Day Jail Sentence Upheld By Illinois Court](https://bossip.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2023/12/17015480505915.jpg)
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An
Illinois
appellate
court
has
upheld
Jussie
Smollett’s
conviction
for
staging
a
hate
crime.
Source:
Aaron
J.
Thornton
/
Getty
According
to
Variety,
the
First
District
Appellate
Court
rejected
his
appeal
in
a
2-1
vote
conducted
on
Friday.
A
jury
convicted
Smollet
in
December
2021.
An
Illinois
judge
sentenced
him
to
150
days
in
the
Cook
County
jail
for
five
felony
charges
of
disorderly
conduct.
Smollett
took
his
acting
from
the
small
screen
to
the
streets
of
Chicago
five
years
ago
in
a
staged
assault.
The
41-year-old
orchestrated
the
hoax
with
two
brothers,
Olabinjo
and
Abimbola
Osundairo.
The
disgraced
actor
claimed
strangers
beat
him
while
spewing
racist
and
homophobic
remarks.
He
reported
they
poured
bleach
on
him
and
tied
a
noose
around
his
neck.
Smollett
also
told
police
the
assailants
yelled
he
was
in
“MAGA
country.”
The
hoax
went
viral
in
2019
after
investigators
discovered
the
Empire
actor
paid
the
men
to
execute
the
staged
“assault.”
The
series
subsequently
dropped
the
fibbing
thespian
from
the
final
season.
Despite
the
brothers’
confession
and
the
jury’s
guilty
verdict,
Jussie
maintained
his
innocence.
Upon
sentencing,
he
yelled
in
the
courtroom,
“I
am
not
suicidal!”
with
a
raised
fist.
Smollett’s
defense
team
appealed
the
conviction,
and
he
secured
a
release
after
only
serving
six
days.
Jussie
Smollet
Appeals
His
Conviction
For
Staging
A
Hate
Crime
Source:
Nuccio
DiNuzzo
/
Getty
During
the
appeal,
Smollett’s
attorneys
challenged
“virtually
every
aspect”
of
the
hoax
case.
Justice
David
R.
Navarro
called
their
objections
to
jury
selection,
the
sentence
and
the
appointment
of
a
special
prosecutor
“excessive.”
The
falsifier’s
attorney
also
stated
COVID-19
capacity
limits
in
the
courtroom
hindered
his
right
to
a
public
trial.
Navarro’s
arguments
were
rejected
on
the
grounds
that
the
trial
judge
did
not
abuse
his
discretion
and
swiftly
corrected
any
mistakes.
The
justices
wrote,
“For
the
foregoing
reasons,
we
affirm
the
judgment
of
the
circuit
court
of
Cook
County.”
Justice
Freddrenna
Lyle
contested
as
she
argued
that
Smollett
should
not
have
been
re-prosecuted
after
the
Cook
County
State’s
Attorney’s
office
initially
dropped
all
charges
against
the
former
child
star.
The
decision
resulted
in
a
firestorm
of
vitriol.
The
judge
appointed
Dan
Webb
to
reexamine
the
case
and
bring
forth
charges
if
he
saw
fit.
The
court
official
contended
the
state’s
attorney
did
not
accurately
recuse
herself.
Lyle
asserted
reversing
the
decision
caused
the
state
to
back
out
on
a
deal
that
was
made
with
Jussie’s
defense
team,
thus
they
should
have
upheld
the
initial
outcome.
The
justice
wrote,
“Public
policy
considerations
and
reverence
for
our
justice
system
disfavor
reneging
on
such
agreements
and
should
never
be
outweighed
by
a
cacophony
of
criticism
as
to
the
terms
of
the
agreement.”
The
Mighty
Ducks
actor’s
reps
stated
he
would
appeal
to
the
state
Supreme
Court.
The
officials
released
a
statement:
“We
wish
to
highlight
that
the
decision
was
divided,
with
Justice
Lyle
offering
a
detailed
analysis
in
favor
of
Smollett.
We
are
preparing
to
escalate
this
matter
to
the
Illinois
Supreme
Court,
armed
with
a
substantial
body
of
evidence.”
The
special
prosecutor
on
the
case,
Dan
Webb,
also
released
a
statement
citing
the
appellate
decision
as
a
“resounding
victory
for
justice.”
“We
are
proud
to
have
prevailed
in
a
case
that,
we
believe,
can
help
restore
the
public’s
confidence
in
the
Cook
County
justice
system,”
Webb
said.
“We
hope
this
decision
will
reassure
the
community
that
our
legal
system
is
fair,
just,
and
impartial.”
Jussie’s
character
on
Empire,
Jamal
Lyon,
clearly
had
a
fitting
last
name,
considering
he
is
going
to
ride
this
untruth
until
the
transmission
gives
out.