Judge Slams 'EMPIRE' Star's Appeal for Conviction of Faking Hate Crime on Self

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline

True Crime, News

3.9 • 7.6K Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2023

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Empire co-star Jussie Smollett gets released from jail while attorneys appeal his conviction for lying to police about a hate crime attack.

Smollett’s attorneys argued that he would complete the sentence by the time the process was completed. They also cited homophobic threats received by the actor in their request for emergency release. The special prosecutor responded to the motion by saying it was “factually incorrect.” Two of the three members of the appellate court agreed with Smollett’s attorneys.

Well, an appeals court upheld Smollett's disorderly conduct convictions. He now will have to finish the 150-day incarceration part of his sentence.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

Matthew Mangino – Attorney, Former District Attorney (Lawrence County); Author: “The Executioner’s Toll: The Crimes, Arrests, Trials, Appeals, Last Meals, Final Words and Executions of 46 Persons in the United States;” Twitter: @MatthewTMangino
Dr. Shari Schwartz– Forensic Psychologist (Specializing in Capital Mitigation and Victim Advocacy); Author: “Criminal Behavior” and “Where Law and Psychology Intersect: Issues in Legal Psychology;” Twitter: @TrialDoc
Paul Szych – Former Police Commander (Albuquerque, NM), APD Domestic Violence and Stalking Unit; Author: “Stop Him From KillingThem;” Twitter: @WorkplaceThreat
Alexis Tereszcuk – CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter, Writer/Fact Checker at Lead Stories; Twitter: @swimmie2009

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Crime stories with Nancy Grace.
0:07.0	It never ends with this guy. Here is a guy with fame. He is a TV star, money. He's making millions of dollars, tens of thousands of dollars per episode on the hit
0:30.3	TV program, Empire. Many argue he's handsome, well educated, loving family, but
0:38.8	justy Smollett will not go away.
0:43.5	Don't tell me, you don't remember,
0:45.0	Jesse Smollett.
0:46.0	I will never forget this guy.
0:48.5	All that money, all that fame,
0:51.5	but he wants more. So he launches a fake, a fake racist hate crime on himself
1:02.2	has two of his friends conduct the fake hate crime and now he's
1:08.0	mad that nobody believes him as a matter of fact he was convicted. In the last hour a judge has to step in and
1:17.1	Illinois court slaps down the Empire Star Jesse Smalette's appeal against his disorderly conduct conviction,
1:26.0	meaning he will have to spend, wait for it, a whopping 150 days behind bars. who could forget the time and The time and money the angst?
1:36.4	Okay, who could forget the time and money the angst
1:42.4	the confusion, the pain, the emotion caused by this TV star
1:49.0	Jesse Smollett's claim that anti-gay racist hate crime was perpetrated on him and then it turns out
1:59.5	he did it to himself. Oh, what, to make more money from Empire?
2:06.0	He was convicted on five counts, disorderly conduct.
2:08.6	He could have gotten a lot worse.
2:10.2	He was sentenced to 150 days in jail, 30 months on probation, 120,000 dollars restitution to Chicago,
2:20.0	and a 25,000 dollar fine. Wait for it. Smalette only served six days behind bars, whining and complaining
2:31.5	and crying
	...

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