Chicago Court Orders Jussie Smollett To be Released from Jail
Share
An appeals court has ordered actor Jussie Smollett to be released from jail a week after he was sentenced to 150 days for allegedly lying about a hate attack in Chicago in 2019.
The appeals court, in a 2-1 decision, said Smollett could be released after posting a personal recognizance bond of $150,000, meaning he doesn’t have to put down money but agrees to come to court as required. It was unclear late Wednesday how soon he may be released.
Smollett’s attorneys had argued that he would have completed the sentence by the time the appeal process was completed and that Smollett could be in danger of physical harm if he remained locked up in Cook County Jail. The office of the special prosecutor called the claim “factually incorrect,” in a response to the motion.
The court’s decision marks the latest chapter in a strange story that began in January 2019 when Smollett, who is Black and gay, reported to Chicago police that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack by two men wearing ski masks. The manhunt for the attackers soon turned into an investigation of Smollett himself and his arrest on charges that he’d orchestrated the attack and lied to police about it.
Photo: Actor Jussie Smollett appears at his sentencing hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on March 10, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. BRIAN CASSELLA-POOL/GETTY IMAGES
