Jussie Smollett Has Been Released From Jail While His Lawyers Prepare To Appeal His Conviction

March 17, 2022 / Posted by:

Last week, Jussie Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail and 30 months felony probation for lying to police about being attacked in a hate crime. As it turns out, that sentence was about as accurate as the details of that alleged hate crime Jussie cooked up. Because after one week, Jussie is out of jail. But it might be temporary. Jussie is only out of jail after a judge granted his legal team an emergency motion to keep Jussie out of jail until a decision regarding an appeal is made.

In December, Jussie was found guilty of 5 out of 6 counts related to making false police reports that he was the victim of a hate crime. Three months later, he was sentenced to 150 days in jail. But Jussie has maintained he’s not guilty, and his lawyers are trying to appeal the decision. In the meantime, they requested that Jussie be released from jail, and that request was approved yesterday. via CNN:

Jussie Smollett was released from jail Wednesday night, after an Illinois appeals court granted an emergency motion by his defense attorneys. Smollett’s legal team is looking to delay his sentence and grant him bond until their appeal on his conviction is decided on.

One of the reasons why Jussie’s lawyers want to appeal the sentence is because they think the decision was tainted in racism, and that Jussie never should have been dropped into a jail cell for a Class 4 felony. In Illinois, a Class 4 felony charge is the least serious of all felony charges. It doesn’t mean it’s not serious, but some Class 4 felonies in Illinois include driving on a revoked driver’s license or aggravated DUI, which is essentially a regular DUI with a little spice. So Jussie’s lawyers are trying to argue that he shouldn’t have been handed such a heavy sentence for something that might have been otherwise brushed off of someone else. via CNN:

“There is no room for politics in our court system,” defense attorney Nenye Uche said in a news conference shortly after the actor’s release. “Regardless of what you think about this case … the real question is, should Black men be walked into jail for a Class 4 felony? The judge spent a great deal of time chastising, berating my client,” Uche said. “I’ve never seen that before.”

That kind of echos the letter of support that was written by several prominent Black actors, who claimed Jussie was being targeted by the city of Chicago, as a way to distract from ongoing police brutality in the city.

Jussie was released after posting a personal recognizance bond of $150,000 (that just means he didn’t have to pay anything, on the agreement that he’ll show up for all future court dates and hearings). He’ll be free to live on the outside for as long as his appeal is pending. As for why Jussie’s request for release was classified as an emergency one, his lawyers argued that he’s immunocompromised and at risk of COVID-19 in jail. Jussie was put in solitary in the psych ward and his lawyers argued that wasn’t good for his mental health. Jussie was released from the psych ward and into a new cell yesterday, but now he’s totally out of the clink.

Prosecutors responded to Jussie’s release by side-eyeing the decision, saying that there’s no emergency so urgent that a convicted person should be released after 6 days. Based on this logic, they argue, pretty much anyone could file for release while an appeal is pending.

But no matter how mad the prosecution might be today, the fact remains that Jussie was freed from jail. Coincidentally, Jussie’s release happened just three days after several of his former Empire co-stars, like Taraji P. Henson, and his sister posted messages of #FREEJUSSIE to social media. I’m not saying that manifesting works. But I am saying that if Taraji P. Henson wanted to post #ALLEXPENSESPAIDBEACHVACATIONFORDLISTED’SALLISON, I’d be willing to volunteer for such an experiment.

Pic: INSTAR

 

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