OAN Staff James Meyers
9:16 AM – Thursday, November 21, 2024
The Illinois Supreme Court overturned disgraced actor Jussie Smollett’s hate crime hoax conviction Thursday.
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The court found on a technicality that Smollett had his rights violated by a special prosecutor’s decision to try him after initial charges against him were previously dropped.
“Today we resolve a question about the State’s responsibility to honor the agreements it makes with defendants,” the court wrote in documents obtained by Fox News Digital. “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.”
Charges against the former “Empire” actor were originally dropped after special prosecutor Kim Foxx requested a new inquiry. Smollett was convicted on five felony counts and later sentenced to 150 days in county jail. The Illinois Supreme Court decided that the special prosecutor’s decision to retry Smollett on charges violated his rights.
Smollett, who is Black and gay, claimed that two men in MAGA hats assaulted him, screaming homophobic and racial slurs and put a noose around his neck, which caused a massive search for suspects by Chicago police.
At the time of the search, the “attack” was making national coverage before a Chicago police investigation revealed that the whole thing was a hoax.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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