Actor Jussie Smollett's conviction in hate crime hoax overturned by leftist Illinois Supreme Court

CHICAGO, IL - On Thursday, November 21st, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Jussie Smollett. Back in 2019, Smollett reported to the police that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack by two men wearing ski masks, however, it was a lie.

According to Fox News, the charges against Smollet, who identifies as a black man and a gay man, were originally dropped. Special prosecutor Kim Foxx requested a new inquiry into the "Empire" star and he was then convicted on five felony counts and later sentenced to 150 days in jail. The Illinois Supreme Court has decided that Foxx's decision to retry Smollett on charges violated his rights. 

The court wrote, "Today we resolve a question about the State's responsibility to honor the agreements it makes with defendants. 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."

Nenye Uche, one of Smollett's attorneys said in a statement, "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. Ultimately, we are pleased that the rule of law was the big winner today. We are thankful to the Illinois Supreme Court for restoring order to Illinois' criminal law jurisprudence."

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani explained the Illinois Supreme Court's decision to overturn Smollett's conviction, saying, "Jussie Smollett is Bill Cosby 2.0. Not because of what he did, but because of what the prosecutor did. 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 added, "By the time a new special prosecutor took over, it was too late because Smollett had already forfeited his bail and performed community service. The Illinois Supreme Court held there was an agreement and Smollett lived up to his end. This is similar to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling a previous district attorney agreed to not prosecute Cosby. It's a shame because Smollett has never accepted responsibility for the hoax, and now he will never face real justice. And it's an example of another soft-on-crime prosecutor in our nation's biggest cities."

Special prosecutor Dan K. Webb, who was appointed to the case by Cook County Judge Michael B. Toomin, emphasized that Smollett is "not innocent." In a lengthy statement he said, in part, "We are disappointed in the Illinois Supreme Court's decision today to overturn Jussie Smollett's convictions and sentence, including the award of over $120,000 in restitution to the City of Chicago for its overtime expenses in investigating Mr. Smollett's fake hate crime. We respectfully disagree with the Court's factual and legal reasoning which upends long-standing Illinois precedent."

The statement added, "Despite today's ruling, the City of Chicago remains able to pursue its pending civil lawsuit against Mr. Smollett in order to recoup the over $120,000 in overtime expenses the Chicago Police Department incurred for investigating Mr. Smollett's fake hate crime." Back on February 5th, Smollett requested the Illinois Supreme Court intervene in his ongoing legal drama.