The Illinois Supreme Court has overturned actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction in the 2021 hate crime hoax, ruling that the second prosecution against him constituted a “due process violation.” Smollett, who had served just six days of a 150-day sentence, will not have to serve the remainder of his jail term.

The court wrote in its opinion:
“Today we resolve a question about the State’s responsibility to honor the agreements it makes with defendants. Specifically, we address whether a dismissal of a case by nolle prosequi allows the State to bring a second prosecution when the dismissal was entered as part of an agreement with the defendant and the defendant has performed his part of the bargain. We hold that a second prosecution under these circumstances is a due process violation, and we therefore reverse defendant’s conviction.”

The decision concluded with the directive:
“We reverse the judgment of the appellate court, reverse the judgment of the circuit court, and remand the cause with directions for the circuit court to enter a judgment of dismissal.”

Smollett’s legal team brought the case to the state’s high court in September, seeking to overturn his 2021 conviction. According to WGN9, his lawyers argued that the conviction violated his Fifth Amendment protection against double jeopardy. They maintained that Smollett had reached an agreement with Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx in 2019 to drop the charges in exchange for forfeiting his $10,000 bond and completing community service.

The overturned conviction stemmed from a 2021 trial in which Smollett was found guilty on five out of six counts of felony disorderly conduct for making false reports to police. Smollett had alleged that in January 2019, he was attacked by two white men wearing MAGA hats, who poured bleach on him, used a rope fashioned into a noose, and shouted racist and homophobic slurs.

It was later revealed that Smollett had hired brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo to stage the attack. Despite the hoax being exposed, Smollett maintained his innocence throughout the legal proceedings.