Jussie Smollett's Convictions Overturned by Illinois Supreme Court

Mar. 15, 2025

The Supreme Court of Illinois overturned theconvictionsofJussie Smollett, the actor who was previously found guilty of falsely reporting a hate crime following a high-profile 2019 incident.

The state’s highest court ruled on Thursday, Nov. 21, that Smollett’s rights were violated when a special prosecutor pursued charges after the Cook County State’s Attorney previously dropped them.

Prosecutors previously alleged thatSmollett, who formerly starred on the showEmpire,staged a hate crime in Chicago after the actor said he had been the victim of a racist and homophobic attack in January 2019.

Smollett, who is Black and openly gay, was accused of paying two brothers, Abimbola “Bola” and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo, $3,500 each to help him stage the attack.

Smollett was indicted on 16 counts of disorderly conduct that March, but the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office later dropped the charges, saying that Smollett had forfeited his bond and done work in the community.

Jussie Smollett.Prince Williams/ Getty

Prince Williams/ Getty

But in 2020 a special prosecutor re-filed charges and Smollett was tried on six counts of disorderly conduct. He was convicted on five counts in 2021. He was sentenced to 150 days in jail but was released as he filed his appeal.

The case generated nationwide controversy, particularly after the charges were initially dropped. In its decision, the Illinois Supreme Court acknowledged the high-profile nature of the proceedings.

Special prosecutor Dan Webb says in a statement that he is “disappointed” in the court’s decision.

“Make no mistake—today’s ruling has nothing to do with Mr. Smollett’s innocence," Webb says. “The Illinois Supreme Court did not find any error with the overwhelming evidence presented at trial that Mr. Smollett orchestrated a fake hate crime and reported it to the Chicago Police Department as a real hate crime, or the jury’s unanimous verdict that Mr. Smollett was guilty of five counts of felony disorderly conduct.”

Smollett’s attorney, Nenye Uche, however, celebrated the decision in a statement exclusive to PEOPLE.

“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,” the statement says. “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.”

Smollett has consistently denied the charges. In September,he spoke to PEOPLEand addressed the incident.

“I was numb,” Smollett told PEOPLE. “I didn’t know how to connect the dots. I really genuinely did not know. I couldn’t make sense of what was going on, and I couldn’t make sense of what people were actually thinking … what exactly do they think happened? I couldn’t put two and two together.”

source: people.com