Jussie Smollett sentencing: Kim Foxx says ‘kangaroo prosecution’ led to actor’s punishment

Prepare dinner County, Illinois, State’s Legal professional Kim Foxx slammed the authorized workforce behind the prison prosecution of Jussie Smollett, writing in an op-ed that the “justice system failed” simply hours after the disgraced Hollywood star was sentenced to jail time for his hate crimes hoax conviction. 

“At its greatest, our justice system ought to make folks safer, maintain accountable those that search to hurt others and earn the belief of its citizenry. At its worst, the system will be simply manipulated in furtherance of thinly veiled political agendas,” Prepare dinner County State’s Legal professional Kim Foxx wrote in an opinion piece printed within the Chicago Solar-Occasions on Thursday night. “On Thursday, the damaging, pricey, and disingenuous prison prosecution of Jussie Smollett got here to an finish.”

She added: “Smollett was indicted, tried and convicted by a kangaroo prosecution in a matter of months. In the meantime, the households of greater than 50 Black girls murdered in Chicago over the past 20 years await justice.”

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Smollett, now 39, advised Chicago Police on Jan. 29, 2019 that he was attacked by two masked males, whom he believed had been White, within the metropolis’s downtown space at about 2 a.m. He alleged that the pair positioned a rope round his neck, poured some “unknown substance” on him and made homophobic and racist feedback. The Black man, who’s homosexual, reportedly claimed they stated, “That is MAGA nation” through the confrontation. 

Unable to search out video of the assault and amid conflicting stories relating to the occasions, police launched photographs exhibiting individuals of curiosity sooner or later later, the 2 folks whom they searched for questioning. In the meantime, celebrities, public officers and civil rights activists flooded social media with messages of assist for Smollett.

Police later questioned two males – however then launched them with out submitting fees, and introduced they needed to re-interview Smollett. 

On Feb. 20, 2019, prosecutors accused Smollett of submitting a false report and charged him with felony disorderly conduct after police obtained proof that Smollett paid the 2 males – brothers – to assist him faux the assault, officers stated on the time.  In March 2019, the Prepare dinner County grand jury indicted him on 16 counts of falsely reporting an offense, however the fees had been dropped weeks later. 

Particular Prosecutor Dan Webb was later tapped to analyze, and a grand jury in the end returned a six-count indictment.

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Smollett pleaded not responsible and went to trial in November and December 2021. He testified for hours earlier than a jury convicted him on 5 of the six counts.

He was sentenced on Thursday to 150 days within the Prepare dinner County Jail, 30 months of felony probation, and ordered to pay $120,000 in restitution. As he was being led out of court docket after his sentencing, he shouted that he was “harmless” and “not suicidal.” 

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lauded the sentence, saying in a press release that town “feels vindicated in immediately’s ruling.” 

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“The prison conviction of Jussie Smollett by a jury of his friends and immediately’s sentencing ought to ship a transparent message to everybody within the Metropolis of Chicago that false claims and allegations won’t be tolerated,” she wrote. “The malicious and wholly fabricated declare made by Mr. Smollett resulted in over 1500 hours of police work that value the Metropolis over $130,000 in police time beyond regulation.” 

Foxx, who has served as state’s lawyer since 2016, isn’t any stranger to the Smollett case. Foxx and her workplace first prosecuted the previous “Empire” actor in 2019, after the allegations arose. She then recused herself from the case in February 2019, earlier than the actor was ever charged, citing discussions between her and one in every of Smollett’s kinfolk. 

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In December 2021, Particular Prosecutor Webb – who prosecuted Smollett in his current trial – selected to not pursue prison fees towards Foxx, however alleged she and her workplace violated authorized ethics and made false statements relating to the investigation. 

Foxx additional defended herself and her workplace and pointed the blame elsewhere in Thursday’s oped, writing that the case “was handled like no different” due to near-immediate leaks to the media and a former prime cop’s tv information look “to debate the proof and Mr. Smollett’s assumed guilt previous to formal fees being filed.”

This reserving photograph supplied by the Prepare dinner County Sheriff’s Workplace reveals Jussie Smollett.
(Prepare dinner County Sheriff’s Workplace by way of AP)

“Given the reputational value Smollett paid, the $10,000 bond we held, and the truth that he’d by no means been accused of a violent crime, my workplace made the choice to not additional pursue a prison conviction,” she wrote. “This story ought to have ended there, as 1000’s upon 1000’s of non-prosecuted instances do each day.”

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“As a substitute, taxpayers have since spent tens of millions of {dollars} for the prison prosecution of a hoax,” she went on. “Quite than working collaboratively to stem rising crime or free the wrongly convicted, a small group of individuals hijacked the judicial system to enact what’s greatest described as mob justice.”

Talking about Webb’s report, she wrote: “Predictably, the probe discovered no prison wrongdoing and nonetheless un-ironically accused me of “abuses of discretion.” It’s a playbook: assault and marginalize anybody combating to create a extra simply system, one which acknowledges the rule of legislation.”

Foxx went on to explain how the mob towards Smollett was “relentless, organized and efficient.”

“A decide appointed a particular prosecutor with an infinite funds to reopen the investigation right into a nonviolent Hollywood actor, an entire disregard for the discretion that prosecutors should have to be efficient and impartial,” she wrote. “As a former prosecutor, Dan Webb is aware of that prosecutors have that energy, and extra importantly, is aware of there isn’t any “abuse of discretion” customary. In truth, the Supreme Court docket has acknowledged the “vast discretion” of prosecutors, and that courts ought to defer to the unique prosecutorial determination. Webb is aware of this, and will check with his pal Invoice Barr’s personal remarks.”

She added: “Simply because we don’t like the result shouldn’t imply we bully prosecutors and circumvent the judicial course of to get it modified.”

Fox Information’ Madelin Fuerste and Matt Finn contributed to this report.