US actor Jussie Smollett, who was jailed for staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019, has successfully overturned his conviction.
In 2021, a jury found the former star of the television drama Empire guilty of five counts of felony disorderly conduct.
He was sentenced to 150 days in prison but served just six before being freed pending an appeal.
Smollett – who is gay and black – told police he was the victim of an attack by two masked strangers in Chicago in January 2019. He claimed they threw a noose around his neck and poured chemicals on him while yelling racist and homophobic slurs.
He was arrested a month later and accused of paying two brothers $3,500 (£2,777) to stage the attack in an effort to raise his profile.
It prompted a huge investigation which reportedly amounted to around two dozen officers and 3,000 staff hours.
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In 2022, Smollett told the court in Chicago: ‘I did not do this’
Smollett – who has always maintained his innocence – was found guilty after an eight-day trial in which two brothers testified that the actor had recruited them to fake an attack on him near his home in central Chicago.
Part of his sentence also included 30 months of probation and he was ordered to pay about $130,000 (£103,000) in restitution.
Wiping away tears at his sentencing hearing in 2022. File pic: Reuters
The actor was led out of the courtroom after being jailed for 150 days. File pic: Reuters
On Thursday, his lawyers successfully appealed his conviction after arguing the case should not have been brought in the first place.
Initially, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office dropped several counts of disorderly conduct in 2019 after Smollett performed community service and forfeited a $10,000 (£7,935) bond.
Jussie Smollett played Jamal Lyon in the drama Empire. File Pic: AP
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But after a special prosecutor took the case, a grand jury restored the charges, which led to his trial and conviction.
Smollett’s lawyers challenged that at the Illinois Supreme Court – successfully arguing a special prosecutor should not have been allowed to intervene after the charges were dropped.
His attorneys also argued Smollett had been victimised by a racist and politicised justice system.
At the time, Chicago launched a lawsuit to recoup $130,000 (£103,000) in police overtime costs to investigate the alleged attack.
Smollett’s lawyers countersued the city for malicious prosecution claiming he had been caused “humiliation and extreme distress”, but that legal action was dismissed by a federal judge in 2020.
