Jussie Smollett Sentenced to 150 Days in County Jail

Jussie Smollett was sentenced Thursday to 150 days in jail for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack that the former “Empire” actor orchestrated himself.

Cook County Judge James Linn sentenced Smollett to 30 months of felony probation, including 150 days in the county jail. Linn denied a request to suspend Smollett’s sentence and ordered he be placed in custody immediately.

Smollett was also ordered to pay $120,106 in restitution.

Smollett loudly proclaimed his innocence after the sentence. “I am innocent. I could have said I am guilty a long time ago,” Smollett shouted as sheriff’s deputies led him out of the courtroom, capping an hourslong sentencing hearing.

Smollett’s defense attorney Nenye Uche asked Linn to limit the sentence to community service. He said Smollett “has lost nearly everything” in his career and finances and asked that Linn give him time to make restitution if that is part of the sentence.

Jussie Smollett’s grandmother, testifying for the defense, asked Linn not to include prison time in his sentence for Smollett.

“I ask you, judge, not to send him to prison,” Molly Smollett, 92, told the court. She later added, “If you do, send me along with him, OK?”

Smollett’s brother, Joel Smollett, Jr., told the court that Smollett is “not a threat to the people of Illinois. In my humble opinion he is completely innocent.”

Smollett’s attorneys also read aloud letters from other supporters, including an organizer with Black Lives Matter, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and LaTanya and Samuel L. Jackson that asked Linn to consider the case’s effect on Smollett’s life and career and to avoid any confinement as part of his sentence.

Other supporters spoke about worries that Smollett would be at risk in prison, specifically mentioning his race, sexual orientation and his family’s Jewish heritage.

Biden Kamala Jussie Smollett

Source: https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1469100931346173954