His attorneys argued that the actor would have served his sentence by the end of the appeal process and that Smollett could be at risk of serious physical harm if he was kept in Cook County Jail.
After Cook County Judge James Linn sentenced Smollett last Wednesday to 30 months felony probation and 150 days in prison for lying to police regarding an alleged hate crime committed in 2019. Smollett was released by the appeals court after posting a $150,000 personal recognizance bail.
Smollett is best known for his role on the TV series “Empire”. He was convicted of five counts each of lying to the police about the attack in December. However, he has maintained that the attack was real throughout his lengthy legal battles.
Smollett could spend up to three years prison for each of five felony charges. Linn sentenced Smollett last week and sent him straight to Cook County jail. He also ordered him to pay $120106 restitution for Chicago, in addition to the maximum $25,000 penalty.
A motion to reconsider Smollett’s sentence or temporarily suspend his imprisonment sentence was denied by the judge. His counsel appealed.
Linn stated, “The wheels for justice are slow but sometimes the hammer must fall and it’s happening right now.” “I’m not going to stay this.”
Linn spent considerable time in court Thursday addressing defendant. Linn stated that his case had received an “unprecedented amount” of attention, the same as he has seen for murder trials.
He said, “Let’s tell you Mr. Smollett. I know that nothing I will do today can even come close to the harm you’ve done to your life.” Your misconduct and shenanigans have turned your life upside-down. It’s a complete ruin to your life. There’s nothing any sentencing judge can do that could compare to the damage that you’ve done to your own life.
Another point was when the judge exhorted Smollett’s actions, saying that “You’re just an charlatan pretending you’re a victim of hate crime, which is shameful.”
Linn also described Smollett as “profoundly arrogant, selfish, and narcissistic,” claiming that he had caused “real harm” to hate crime victims. He reiterated that he did not sentence Smollett to silence public outrage, but rather based on Smollett’s testimony, priors and the responses of social justice titans who spoke for him.
He said, “You knew that this country was slowly trying to repair past injustices and current injustices and trying make a better tomorrow for each other.” It was hard work. You ripped off the scabs from some of the healing wounds. But you did it because you wanted to be more famous.
Linn said, “You were in fact throwing a national party for yourself.”
Smollett left the courtroom holding a raised fist in the air and walked out of the room.
After initially refusing to speak, Smollett stated that he was innocent and not suicidal. “If I did that, it would mean that I sat in the fear of Black Americans living in this country for more than 400 years as well as the fear of the LGBT community. Honorable senator, I respect and admire you as well as the jury. This was not my intention. I’m not suicidal. If anything happens, it is not because I did this. You should all be aware of that. Your honor and my respect go out to you.
The actor, who is Black, and gay, claimed that he had been the victim of a homophobic and racist attack on January 29th 2019. Two men followed him along a street at night, shouting slurs, before tossing a “unknown chemical substance” upon him and tying a noose around the neck.
Police and prosecutors claimed that Smollett had paid Ola Osundairo and Abel Osundairo $3,000. to stage the attack. Smollett requested that the brothers stage a fake attack.
Smollett’s defense team requested that his conviction be thrown out or declared a bogus trial. This was based on the promise of a Cook County prosecutor in 2019 to drop the original charges. Tina Glandian, defense attorney, argued that Smollett was wrongfully re-prosecution and made several errors during the trial.
The defense team’s claims were rebuffed by the prosecution, who called them finger-pointing and scapegoating.
Linn rejected Linn’s request for a new trial and stated, “The only crime in this whole scenario was the false report of the police.”
A victim impact statement was also read by the Chicago Police Department. It claimed that Smollett’s false reports cost the department money and time that could have been used for solving crimes or harmed “real victims” of hate crimes. Smollett was also required to pay $130,106 restitution by the department for the costs of the investigation.
Smollett was defended by several key witnesses who spoke about Smollett’s character and his role as actor and role model for the African American community.
Rich Daniels, former music director for “Empire”, said that Smollett was a loving, caring young man. He also described how Smollett helped the Chicago community by visiting local students. He is a man I think the whole world would love.
Joel Smollett, Smollett’s older brother, also read a statement asking for leniency. He said that “Jussie shouldn’t be imprisoned.” He was a loving, loyal, and creative person. He is not a danger to Illinois’s citizens.”
Smollett’s grandmother, 92 years old, also spoke for him. She credited her Jewish heritage as one reason that Smollett and the rest of his family are focused on social justice. She asked the judge to send her to jail with Smollett, if he is still in prison.
After hearing from his brother and friends, Smollett sat next to him as he tried to wipe away his tears.
Counsel for Smollett read letters from Rainbow Push, Innocence Project, and Black Lives Matter to Rev. Jesse Jackson, actor Samuel L. Jackson, and actress Alfre woodard. Smollett was the subject of these letters, and they asked for probation rather than jail time.
Smollett has categorically denied the allegations of police and prosecutors that he orchestrated the attack.
The 39-year old actor claimed that the $3500 they claimed they received to stage the attack was actually a payment for training sessions, CBS Chicago reported.
He said to the jury, “There was not a hoax.” “Not one iota has changed.”
Smollett’s defense team described Ola Osundairo, a homophobic woman, as an excuse for attacking Smollett.
Smollett also said that he once kissed Abel Osundairo in a bathroom. Abel said that he never had a sexual relationship or sex with Smollett, but that he did agree to assist the actor in the attack because he believed Smollett would benefit his acting career.
The prosecution highlighted evidence from the police, including footage showing Smollett driving to the scene of the attack and picking up Abel in his car days before the incident. According to CBS Chicago, Smollett claimed that he and Abel used drugs often together. However, police said that the meeting was a “dry run” for committing the attack.
Dan Webb, the Prosecutor, also reiterated his doubts regarding Smollett’s testimony. He argued that he wouldn’t have gone out to purchase eggs at 2 am on one of the coldest nights in the year and that the Osundairo siblings would not be able to ambush his location unless they knew where he was. He said that they knew where he was because they had been told.
