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On Thursday, three months after a jury found him guilty of lying to police, those questions will be answered when Smollett, a onetime star of the television show “Empire,” returns for sentencing to the courtroom where he was found guilty of lying to police about an attack prosecutors contended he orchestrated himself.
Smollett was convicted of five of six felony counts of disorderly conduct — for lying to police. He was acquitted on a sixth count. He faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison per count.
Smollett was convicted of five of six felony counts of disorderly conduct — for lying to police. He was acquitted on a sixth count. He faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison per count.
Cook County Judge James Linn can order the maximum sentence, a much shorter sentence, or put Smollett on probation, meaning he won’t have to spend time behind bars. And he can order a fine and restitution — the amount of which could reach tens of thousands of dollars.
JUSSIE SMOLLETT SUPPORTERS WRITE LETTERS TO JUDGE ASKING FOR LENIENCY
Defendants convicted of lying to police, one of the least serious felonies in Illinois, rarely go to prison. But this is a rare case.
Prosecutors showed Smollett, who is Black and gay, went to extraordinary lengths in January 2019 to stage a hate crime. He hired and paid two brothers to carry out the attack, prosecutors said, told them what racist and homophobic slurs to shout, and to yell that Smollett was in “MAGA Country,” a reference to the campaign slogan of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
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