The conviction of Jussie Smollett, the black man who staged a hate crime on himself was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday.
Smollett's charges were initially dropped, until prosecutor Kim Foxx re-introduced five felony counts on the actor. He was convicted and sentenced to 150 days behind bars. Now the Supreme Court of Illinois says the conviction was a violation of Smollet’s rights.
"This was not a prosecution based on facts, rather it was a vindictive persecution and such a proceeding has no place in our criminal justice system," said one of Smollett's attorneys.
A former federal prosecutor, Neama Rahmani said "Kim Foxx shockingly agreed to drop the charges against Smollett for staging a hate crime, lying about it, and costing Chicago PD countless hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars." He referred to Smollett as “Bill Cosby 2.0.”
The court ruled that because agreements had been made to the defendant, that later prosecuting him was a violation of his rights as an American citizen.
In 2019, Smollett told the Chicago PD that he had been the victim of a hate crime. He alleged that two white men in “MAGA” hats had attacked him. He claimed that while those men attacked him, they shouted racist and homophobic slurs.
He also claimed that the attackers referenced “pro-Trump slogans” such as “Make America Great Again.”
Surveillance footage showed the men that he had hired to stage the attack - though it did not show them attacking him, it did show them purchasing items like red hats, and ski masks.
