The Illinois Supreme Court overturned Jussie Smollett’s conviction for fraud

The Illinois Supreme Court struck down a the conviction of actor Jussie Smollettprosecutors accused of attacking themselves with racism and homophobia in 2019 in Chicago.

Smollett, who is black and gay, was convicted of five counts of disorderly conduct in 2021.

He claimed that two men targeted him in a hate crime, using abusive language and tying a rope around his neck as he walked down the street near his house.

Two men have testified that the Empire star paid them $3,500 (£2,700) to carry out the attack.

Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail, but served only six days before being released pending an appeal.

The state Supreme Court sided with Smollett’s attorneys, who argued that Smollett should not have been appointed a special prosecutor after the Cook County District Attorney’s Office dropped the charges in exchange for public assistance.

The decision sparked outrage from many, including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who said Smollett was “exonerated, with no sense of accountability for his moral wrongdoing”.

A grand jury later reinstated the charges after a special prosecutor took over the case.

“We know that this case has aroused a lot of public interest and that many people are not satisfied with the decision of the first case and believe that it was unfair,” wrote the Supreme Court of the region in its opinion on Thursday.

“However, what would be more unjust than the settlement of any single criminal case would be the holding of this court that the State was not bound to honor the agreements on which the people depend so much.”

During Smollett’s trial, prosecutors said he attacked because he was unhappy with the television studio’s response to hate mail he received.

Smollett said the attack was “not a hoax” and that he was the victim of a hate crime in Chicago.

But the two men they accused of committing the crime — two brothers, one of whom Smollett said he met on the Empire show — said Smollett hired them and paid them by check.