Illinois Supreme Court Overturns Jussie Smollett Conviction For Alleged Hoax

The Illinois Supreme Court has overturned a conviction against actor Jussie Smollett, who prosecutors accused of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019 in Chicago.

Smollett, who is black and gay, was convicted of five counts of disorderly conduct in 2021.

He had claimed two men targeted him in a hate-crime, yelling racial slurs and putting a noose around his neck while he was walking down the street near his apartment.

Two men testified that the Empire television show star paid them $3,500 (£2,700) to stage the attack.

Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail, but only served six days before he was freed pending appeal.

The state Supreme Court sided with Smollett’s attorneys, who had argued in their appeal that Smollett should not have been charged by a special prosecutor after the Cook County State Attorney’s Office dropped charges in exchange for community service.

A grand jury re-established the charges after a special prosecutor took on the case.

During Smollett’s trial, prosecutors alleged he staged the attack because he was unhappy with a television studio’s response to hate mail he received.

Smollett claimed that the attack was “no hoax” and that he was the victim of a hate crime in Chicago.

By BBC News