1 hour ago, bugatti said:

The defense has rested in this case. The prediction I saw, if found guilty, he would be convicted of a felony but would probably just get probation and community service.

I know this is a serious matter, but this case is funny in the sense of how Jussie tried to pull it off. It borderlines an SNL sketch. Remember, he created the story that a couple of racists, in the middle of the coldest night of the year in Chicago, were driving around with bleach and a noose ready to attack. Then his friend told him to put the noose around his neck and send the cops a picture. I'm no detective, but I bet this case took them all of 5 minutes to crack and to know he was full of it.

Agree on all counts except I can definitely see some jail time. 

On 12/1/2021 at 12:32 PM, PurplePride92 said:

He deserves jail time.  Having money or access to money might save him.   

I didn't know who Jussie Smollett was until this thing.  I'm not sure what all he has been in, but has he had a successful enough career to have a bunch of money?  

Regardless, this is one of eleventy billion cases that gets way more attention than it merits IMO.

Just now, Randy Parker said:

I didn't know who Jussie Smollett was until this thing.  I'm not sure what all he has been in, but has he had a successful enough career to have a bunch of money?  

Regardless, this is one of eleventy billion cases that gets way more attention than it merits IMO.

I agree it gets more attention than merited but that is in part because the media didn't do their job properly and the original prosecution was corrupt.  Or put another way, if it was you or me or anyone here on BGP we would have been slapped down immediately and either had to take a plea or get drilled.

Just now, theguru said:

I agree it gets more attention than merited but that is in part because the media didn't do their job properly and the original prosecution was corrupt.  Or put another way, if it was you or me or anyone here on BGP we would have been slapped down immediately and either had to take a plea or get drilled.

Agreed.  Happens way too much.

5 minutes ago, Randy Parker said:

I didn't know who Jussie Smollett was until this thing.  I'm not sure what all he has been in, but has he had a successful enough career to have a bunch of money?  

Regardless, this is one of eleventy billion cases that gets way more attention than it merits IMO.

Does he have a bunch of money?  Doubtful.   Does he have people who have access to money?  Absolutely.  His sister is a damn good actress.  I’m sure his lawyers are bought and paid for and not public defenders.   

Just now, PurplePride92 said:

Does he have a bunch of money?  Doubtful.   Does he have people who have access to money?  Absolutely.  His sister is a damn good actress.  I’m sure his lawyers are bought and paid for and not public defenders.   

Gotcha.

5 minutes ago, Randy Parker said:

Agreed.  Happens way too much.

Unfortunately I agree.  In many places the media and the prosecutors have become the enemy of the people. 

Jussie was found guilty on 5 of the 6 charges.

I haven't seen anything about the punishment yet, I guess that comes later. 

I am listening to an expert talk about the punishment.  If I follow technically it is 3 years on each count that is ultimately possible and on top of that there may be a sentencing enhancement because he testified in his defense and by all accounts lied in court.  None of that means he is going to get any jail time but the experts I just listened to seemed to think jail time may be likely. 

Jussie is by no means a violent guy, and normally I would have dismissed his pathetic attention seeking stunt.  Unfortunately he chose a particularly homophobic/racist sensitive time to use to his advantage.  Not really sure what his punishment should be but I don’t think jail would be appropriate.  Would hate to see him benefit financially from this though, whether by book or media.  I hope he never gets another acting job, and find him working at IHOP soon.

10 hours ago, Beechwoodfan said:

Not really sure what his punishment should be but I don’t think jail would be appropriate.

Part of me feels that way, and another part of me thinks he absolutely should do jail time. As seriously as I think hate crimes should be treated, I think faking one should be treated equally as harsh. In today's society, this is nothing to play with. 

1 minute ago, TheDeuce said:

Part of me feels that way, and another part of me thinks he absolutely should do jail time. As seriously as I think hate crimes should be treated, I think faking one should be treated equally as harsh. In today's society, this is nothing to play with. 

This.

13 minutes ago, TheDeuce said:

Part of me feels that way, and another part of me thinks he absolutely should do jail time. As seriously as I think hate crimes should be treated, I think faking one should be treated equally as harsh. In today's society, this is nothing to play with. 

This is true. What Jussie did was absolutely wrong, and we have enough race problems in this world that we don't need to make up fake stories about these types of incidents. The thing that bothers me is that I see folks on my social media pages who are very vocal about having the book thrown at Jussie, but aren't nearly as vocal or upset when actual racially motivated crimes do happen. I think it goes back to the fact that many don't want to believe or don't think there are race issues in this country, and are going to use Jussie to justify these beliefs.

1 minute ago, rjs4470 said:

I think it goes back to the fact that many don't want to believe or don't think there are race issues in this country, and are going to use Jussie to justify these beliefs.

Absolutely. 

Faking a hate crime punishments have precedence. We are not reinventing the wheel here. Do we know what those individuals generally get? Just because of his semi-celebrity status, does that mean punishment becomes more severe?