Actor Jussie Smollett has been released from prison after serving three days of his 150 day sentence.
Smollett had been sent to prison over his 2019 assault hoax. The actor was found guilty of lying to police about the racist and homophobic attack that the former Empire actor had apparently staged himself.
Cook County judge James Linn sentenced the actor to 30 months of felony probation including 150 days in the county jail. The actor was also ordered to pay USD$120,106 (AUD$163,000) in restitution.
Now an appeals court has ordered that Smollett be released after his legal team filed an appeal against his conviction. His legal team argued that by the court would hear his appeal he would have already served a large share of his sentence, and that the actor was in danger in prison due to his celebrity status.
As Smollett was taken into custody earlier this month he maintained that he was innocent of the crime, and also shouted out that he was not suicidal.
“I am innocent. I could have said I am guilty a long time ago,” Smollett declared as he was taken into custody by sheriff’s deputies.
The appeal court ruled that Smollett should be released until the results of his legal challenge against the conviction were known.
The Empire star received a wave of community and celebrity support in January 2019 after he claimed to have been attacked, burned with chemicals and had a rope tied around his neck by two men shouting “This is MAGA country” – a reference to Donald Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan.
It was later revealed that the two men were known to Jussie Smollett, with both of them having appeared as extras on his television program, and one of them having worked as his personal trainer.
Police claimed that Smollett faked the attack had had paid the brothers $3,500 to carry it out. They allege that the actor was deliberately creating publicity for himself so he could negotiate a higher paycheck on the TV show Empire.
OIP Staff
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