The conviction of Jussie Smollett was reversed by the Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday.
The state's highest court found that a special prosecutor should not have been allowed to intervene after the Cook County state's attorney initially dropped charges against Smollett in exchange for him forfeiting his $10,000 bond and conducting community service. The former "Empire" actor was convicted on charges that he staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in downtown Chicago in 2019 and lied to police.
"When Kim Foxx cut the deal with him, whereby he would do community service and sacrifice his bond money, that was a deal and it should have been honored," Conti said. "When the special prosecutor brought charges again, that that violated the double jeopardy clause of the Constitution and even if didn't technically violate the due process and double jeopardy clause, it was unfair to cut a deal and then prosecute him again.
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