On November 21, 2024, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned Jussie Smollett's conviction. The actor was charged and convicted of disorderly conduct in 2021 for lying to the police about being a victim of a hate crime. The court said that he should not have been charged a second time as he reached a plea deal with the prosecutors earlier for the same offense in 2019.
According to reports, Cook County State's Attorney's office, headed by Kim Foxx, offered Jussie Smollett a plea deal, they dropped all charges against him for community service and forfeiture of $10,000 bond money. This led to an outrage and later a special prosecution indicted Jussie again and a jury found him guilty of 5 of 6 disorderly conduct charges in 2021, which was overthrown in November 2024.
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Who is Kim Foxx?
On Dec. 1, 2016, Kim Foxx became the first-ever African-American woman to lead the state attorney's office in Cook County. She studied B.A. Political science at Southern Illinois University, and did her J.D. at the SIU School of Law. She served 12 years as Assistant State's Attorney Cook County State's Attorney's Office.
She is set to end her eight-year tenure as Cook County State's Attorney. As the chapter closes there were ups and downs in her career, she told Fox 32. One case that put Foxx in a controversial situation was the 2019 Jussie Smollett Case.
The Cook County State's Attorney's Office which offered Smollett the controversial plea deal, was led by Kim Foxx. Foxx had also removed herself from the case before he was charged because of her connection with one of Smollett's relatives.
In TMZ Live, Foxx shared her thoughts on the Supreme Court overturning her case. She said the decision was not surprising because she knew it would be considered double jeopardy. She stands by her decision to offer Jussie a plea deal and said that what she offered to Jussie is something prosecutors often propose to people charged with low-level felony charges like disorderly conduct.
She also recently came under the spotlight as she brought sexual assault charges against R. Kelly, an American rapper.
What is the Jussie Smollett Case?
On January 19, Jussie Smollett, a black and gay actor, told the Chicago Police that he faced hate crime from two men near his neighborhood in downtown Chicago. According to him, the men called him slurs, put a noose around his neck, poured something on him, and allegedly yelled at him 'This is MAGA country'.
According to reports, the investigators arrested two persons of interest, the Osundairo Brothers, concerning Smollett's complaint. The POI's testimony revealed that Jussie's report was allegedly a hoax. They confessed that they were paid $ 3500 to stage the hate crime. Jussie, known for his role in Empire, allegedly created the hate crime hoax because he was mad at the Empire team's reaction to a hate mail he received on set. It is also alleged that he wanted to promote his career.
The actor was charged and arrested for disorderly conduct. Jussie Smollett still maintains his innocence.
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