Jussie Smollett Is Released From Prison As His Lawyers Appeal His 5 Felony Convictions
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Actor Jussie Smollett was convicted on December 2020 for a hoax crime that he staged in January 2019. He claimed that two MAGA supporters attacked him, hurled racial slurs, and beat him.
Few were surprised to learn that Smollett's attack was a complete fabrication in which he hired two men to play the role of MAGA racists. Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail on March 10; this was part of an overall sentence of 30 months probation. He was fined $120,106 in restitution to the Chicago police for the overtime spent on his case and an additional $25,000.
Jussie Smollett Was Released From Prison
On March 16 he was released from prison (although he is still responsible for the fines). The Illinois Appellate Court decided in a 2-1 decision to release the Empire actor from jail, releasing a one-page order that instructed Smollett to be released. His lawyers are now working to appeal his five felony convictions. Smollett's lawyers claimed that the jail sentence was unconstitutional and an unfitting punishment for the crime.
Now that Smollett is released, he is even free to travel outside of the Windy City, as long as he stays in contact with authorities. If he misses any future hearings he will be fined $150,000. As he exited the jail, Smollett didn't say anything, but his defense attorney Nenye Uche told the media that Smollett only drank water over the last six days and ate no food.
Smollett's trial felt like a joke from the very beginning, especially considering the fact that he still maintains his innocence after the evidence proved him guilty and the court found him guilty on five felony counts. Now that he walks free, he proves that the only real privilege we see regularly in our society is for elite figures who get away with just about anything as long as they espouse the right politics.
