The judge in the Jussie Smollett case has denied the motion for a retrial and has just sentenced Jussie Smollett for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack he staged in Chicago.
Smollett faced up to 3 years in prison.
Listening to the live stream of Jussie Smollett sentencing hearing. He faces up to 3 years in prison for each of the five felony counts, for his role in a staged attack that happened in 2019.
— Annette Peagler (@Annette_Peagler) March 10, 2022
Judge Linn recapping the three-year journey of Smollett's case, then moves onto sentencing ranges: probation, jail time, or prison time between 1-3 years– but notes "people are watching, people seem to care passionately for a variety of reasons."
— Andy Grimm (@agrimm34) March 11, 2022
After a hour of back and forth, Judge James Linn has denied Jussie Smollett's motion for a new trial.
The sentencing is coming very soon, concluding what's been a 3 year circus.
— Ernest Owens (@MrErnestOwens) March 10, 2022
The judge sentenced him to 150 days in jail and 30 months of felony probation, ordering him to pay $120k dollars in restitution and $25k in fines.
#BREAKING: Jussie Smollett has been sentenced 150 days in jail.
— Kris Pangilinan (@KrisReports) March 11, 2022
Jussie Smollett sentenced to 150 days in jail starting immediately. Also gets probation and has to pay $100,000 in restitution.
Smollett yells after sentence and says "he is innocent."
— WWL-TV (@WWLTV) March 11, 2022
BREAKING: Jussie Smollett sentenced 150 DAYS IN JAIL and 30-month felony probation. Allowed to travel. Pay restitution $125,106. Fined maximum of $25,000.
— Annie Frey (@anniefreyshow) March 11, 2022
Smollett began yelling out in the court that he was not suicidal and that he was innocent. Even as he was being escorted out he declared this for all to hear again.
Here’s video of the sentencing:
Jussie Smollett is a terrible actor. His name is now synonymous with telling lies. Here he is, claiming he is not suicidal. pic.twitter.com/ADtrup8ood
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 11, 2022
The sentencing hearing lasted a LONG time and included guest appearances from all sort of people and celebrity letters on his behalf. They e ven brought in his 92-year old grandmother from New Mexico to speak on his behalf.
Smollett’s lawyer was so desperate he tried to use the Bible to convince the judge not to sentence his client to prison:
“Judge, He that is without sin cast the first stone…” #JussieSmollett’s attorney asks for full mercy on what he calls a political prosecution. Watch now for decision on @CourtTV @ChanleyCourtTV pic.twitter.com/us9B2ZQFfT
— Julia Jenaé (@JuliaCourtTV) March 10, 2022
But the judge saw through it all. During his comments before sentencing, the judge discussed how Smollett really does care social justice, which underscores the absurdity of what he did. The judge said that Smollett was profoundly arrogant, selfish and narcissistic and said he did this because he craved attention and wanted a national pity party.
The judge also underscored how premeditated this was by Smollett, saying “This was not a crime of impulse… You did wake up in the morning thinking you were going to something bad, something wrong. You wrote a script…it’s not a good script.”
He added “Your extreme premeditation is an aggravating factor.”
The judge pointed out that when the fake attack happened, Smollett’s cronies failed to put the noose on him and then dropped this bomb, saying “You put the noose around your own neck. I repeat. You put the noose around your own neck.”
The judge accused him of lying to police, saying that’s why we’re here today:
Linn says that Smollett lied to the first responding CPD officer and "you haven't stopped lying ever since. You've been lying and lying and lying about this case and that's why you're here today."
— Sam Charles (@samjcharles) March 11, 2022
The judge also blasted his performance on the witness stand:
Judge Linn to Smollett: "Your performance on the witness stand … you committed hour after hour after hour of pure perjury."
— Eric Zorn (@EricZorn) March 11, 2022