Jussie Smollett will serve 150 days (approximately 6 months) in the iron college.
The washed up entertainer will face a sentence. Jussie Smollett, 40 could be serving time in the iron college after he was found guilty of staging a racial hoax and filing a false police report.
He single handedly ruined his career and forced Fox to cancel the musical drama Empire.
Smollett paid two men to rough him up so he could use this as a platform to boost a bigger role on Empire. The two brothers, Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo testified that Smollett paid a hefty sum to rough him up. They purchased bleach, a rope and a few Washed Up 45 memorabilia to portray themselves as a two white men who wanted to beat up a gay Black man.
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| He sabotaged his career. |
Smollett refused to admit he staged the whole ordeal. The jury found him guilty and now as a convicted felon, he will face two options: probation or the iron college.
Smollett’s punishment will be meted out by Judge James Linn, who presided over Smollett’s eight-day trial in November and December 2021 when the actor was found guilty on five counts of disorderly conduct — a low level felony charge in Illinois that carries a maximum of three years in the iron college.
With Smollett’s minimal criminal history, experts say a prison sentence is not likely. A sentence of probation, community service or a fine, however, is in play.
Smollett testified in his defense during last year’s trial and he steadfastly denied any involvement in the phony hate crime plan. After he was convicted, Smollett’s lead defense attorney, Nenye Uche, vowed to appeal.
At Thursday’s hearing, Smollett will once again have the chance to address the court. Unlike the trial, though, Linn will this time allow news cameras inside his courtroom to broadcast the proceedings.
While Thursday’s sentencing hearing could mark the end of Smollett’s criminal case, two federal lawsuits tied to the case are still proceeding.
In one suit, the city is seeking to recoup $130,000 that was spent on police overtime costs incurred during the initial “hate crime” investigation.
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| Chicago want their money back for the time spent on the hoax. |
Former CPD Supt. Eddie Johnson lambasted Smollett, telling reporters: “How can an individual who’s been embraced by the city of Chicago turn around and slap everyone in this city in the face by making these false claims?”
However, those charges against Smollett were quickly dropped in late March, infuriating Chicago leaders. Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel called the decision “a miscarriage of justice.”
Cook County Judge Michael Toomin in June 2019 found that irregularities in the case warranted a special prosecutor. Toomin appointed Dan Webb — the chair of Chicago law firm Winston & Strawn and a former U.S. Attorney — as special prosecutor in the case in August 2019.
A year later, Webb found “abuses of discretion” by the state’s attorney’s office.
Webb brought a new set of disorderly conduct charges against Smollett in February 2021.
Smollett was written out of Empire, and he testified last year that his career as an actor was derailed by the ordeal.
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