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Jussie Smollett Sentenced to Jail, Probation for Lying to Police in Staged Hate Crime
After an emotional day of testimony on both sides, actor Jussie Smollett has been sentenced to 150 days in jail in connection to a staged hate crime that occurred in Chicago in Jan. 2019.
www.nbcchicago.com
After an emotional day of testimony on both sides, actor Jussie Smollett has been sentenced to 150 days in jail in connection to a staged hate crime that occurred in Chicago in January 2019.
Smollett will begin his sentence immediately. He was also ordered to pay more than $120,000 in restitution to the city of Chicago and was fined $25,000.
He was also sentenced to 30 months of felony probation.
Smollett was convicted of lying to police about the staged attack, which he hired two brothers to help him undertake near his Streeterville apartment.
Judge James Linn issued his ruling on Thursday, saying that the incident's "extreme premeditation" was an aggravating factor in the case. He also said that he believed Smollett orchestrated the attack to an exacting degree, rehearsing it extensively.
"You turned your life upside down," Linn said. "You destroyed your life as you know it. There is nothing I can do to you today that will come close to the damage you've done to your own life."
The judge said that he believed Smollett “craved attention” and that he faked the crime to “make yourself more famous.”