Jussie Smollett's charges dropped

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#1
Castin
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Well, that was unexpected. A grand jury apparently saw enough evidence to warrant indicting him on 16 charges. Then he goes into a room with the prosecutor and comes out with a deal and all charges dropped?

The deal being a $10,000 hit to his wallet and some community service. Sorry, prosecutors, but that is just so unequal to his crime. That would be like telling me I just have to give you ten dollars and mow some lawns. The city of Chicago says ten grand won't even cover the cost of the wasted investigation.
#2
SamStevens
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@Castin
It's ridiculous.  Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said that the city is sending Smollett the bill for the investigative work in the hoax, which is $130,000. 

I don't know how Smollett can recover his career after this entire situation. Although Trump weighed in on the matter via a Tweeet saying that he's going to have the FBI, etc probe the matter as well, Emanuel made clear that Trump's involvement and commentary of the situation is not welcomed and that Trump helped create the toxic atmosphere that allowed Smollett to think he could get away with staging a hoax. 


#3
Outplayz
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@Castin
It was likely his first offense. The law is usually lenient on you for certain offenses if it's your first offense. The judge / prosecutor evaluate this when making a deal. The questions they ask... or a main question is will this person repeat breaking the law. I think it's fair to say Smollet learned a big lesson and it's fair enough to say he is probably not the repeat offender type. They of course still punished him as you said, and i'm sure the prospect of going to prison scared the hell out of him... a gay person in prison is really not good. Read / watch prison stories of what happens to them. This channel is interesting if you are curious of such things...


So... putting him in prison with the prospect that he will really be hurt is considered. I personally think he made a huge mistake, but i feel he learned his lesson and won't repeat offend. I think that's the conclusion the courts made too. He is really lucky... he's not only a celebrity, but he is clear that he's gay... that's almost a death sentence in prison. I'm happy he didn't have to get that. I think that should be for the worst criminals... not a desperate gay guy trying to get more views. He messed up, and i hope the prospect of the horrors scared him... and he won't mess up again. 

#4
Greyparrot
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@Outplayz
Totally disagree. He isn't sorry, and is doubling down on the fake racism narrative by doing "service" with one of the country's most infamous race baiter, Jessie Jackson.

He won't apologize to the Chicago PD, or anyone else. He will do it again.
#5
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@Greyparrot
He won't apologize to the Chicago PD, or anyone else. He will do it again.
You're probably right. I could really care less about this guy, so i didn't follow it at all except for the beginning and what happened. I don't know what state this happened in... if it's CA... you usually get off on your first offense with a plea deal if you give DNA and some other punishment like community service or classes or both. Depending on the seriousness of the offense and usually if they think you'll repeat offend... so, i don't know what happened here to give him the lighter sentence and not the max. The courts aren't always easy to understand why they made a decision. I really do think they factored in the "gay actor in prison" thing... he would have to have extra protection which means more money to keep him in prison... so i don't know.   

#6
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@SamStevens
He'll get a book deal lol.
#7
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@ResurgetExFavilla
The only book deal he should get is being hit over the head with one lol
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#8
Castin
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@Outplayz
He didn't learn shit, I'm afraid. He's still demanding an apology from the police and the mayor for their terrible persecution of him. He's still playing victim. He's still insisting that two completely fictional white guys in MAGA hats perpetrated a completely fictional hate crime on him. I don't know how he can learn any lesson when he won't even admit he did anything wrong.

He lied, he schemed, he made it harder for victims of real hate crimes to be believed, he poured gasoline on the fire of a country already riven by racial and political divisiveness, he wasted time the police could have spent pursuing real crimes, he handed racists all the ammunition they'll need for years, he did all of it just to greedily advance his career, and he's not the least bit sorry.

"Well it was only his first offense" just seems like a pretty weak salve for all that. Idk, maybe this is why I'm not a litigator.
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#9
Castin
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@SamStevens
It's ridiculous.  Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said that the city is sending Smollett the bill for the investigative work in the hoax, which is $130,000. 

I don't know how Smollett can recover his career after this entire situation. Although Trump weighed in on the matter via a Tweeet saying that he's going to have the FBI, etc probe the matter as well, Emanuel made clear that Trump's involvement and commentary of the situation is not welcomed and that Trump helped create the toxic atmosphere that allowed Smollett to think he could get away with staging a hoax. 
He's up for an NAACP award, actually.

Smollett is nominated for the 2019 NAACP Image Awards, scheduled for Saturday. Six-time host and "Black-ish" star Anthony Anderson told Variety on Wednesday that he hopes to see the controversial actor there.

“I hope he wins," Anderson added. "I’m happy for him that the system worked for him in his favor because the system isn’t always fair, especially for people of color. So I’m glad it worked out for him." 
*eye twitch*
#10
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@Castin
*eye twitch*

XD ikr

#11
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@Castin
"Well it was only his first offense" just seems like a pretty weak salve for all that. Idk, maybe this is why I'm not a litigator. 
Well... in something like 95% of cases people take plea deals. He likely had a really good lawyer that got him out of this one. I didn't know he is still denying it... i sorta want to take back what i said. He likely does deserve at least jail time to scare him straight (pun? maybe). The law just works in mysteries ways man... actually, no, the law favors those with lots of money and good lawyers. It's kinda sad. I hate it more that he's making money off all this junk... so, his plan ultimately worked. It's additionally sad this world favors the psychopaths and narcissists. 

#12
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The most disgusting part is that he was clearly willing to send two innocent guys to jail over this. He was eager to testify when the cops told them that they had two men in custody, and backed out when he realized that it was the Nigerian brothers whom they had arrested.

#13
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This is a heinous crime.  For something planned out like this, so nefarious, so manipulative, so diabolical in every way shape and form, there should be no forgiveness for a first offense.  It's like murdering someone, or robbing a bank, and saying, well it's only the first offense, he won't do it again.  This is a disgrace, and I think he did it more for political reasons than his career, he is an SJW.... He was disgusted with Trump and wanted to get more of the country to hate Trump and his followers.  The money and a boost in career status thing was just a plus he was hoping capitalize on as well, but not the main motive.

Left or right, we all agree that people should not be harassed or mistreated because of their race or sexual orientation.  We all have the same goals, just different paths acquiring them.  The left wants everyone to be treated the same, yet to get there, treat people differently (through reparations, tax cuts, laws, minority status and loopholes), which is one of the most hypocritical things I have ever heard.  The right wants everyone to be treated the same, based on individualism.
#14
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@DBlaze
this wasn't a spur of the moment, heat of the moment occurrence, he used money and thought out plans, this wasn't a thoughtless mistake, it was premeditated.  He should be charged as such.  People make mistakes, bad judgement do stupid things, but this was planned out and probably over a good length of time.  That is why it shouldn't so easily be excused or brushed off because he is a 'protect' class, famous or wealthy.
#15
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@TheDredPriateRoberts
Wholeheartedly agree! 
This should also be a hate crime.  People who perpetrate hoaxes to get some sort of hate reaction from the community, the media, the country, and the world should be charged with hate crimes themselves.  It is basically the same thing, I see no difference, only it might be worse because they are trying to frame someone that does not really exist, which always causes a waste of investigative time.  

Many of these things are hoaxes, in fact, a lot of the ones that get national attention, are indeed, hoaxes.

It turns my stomach to know that people are so sick in the head that they have to combat the frustration they have buried in their head by concocting false accusations.  These people need help more than the people that actually commit hate crimes.  Jussie is no exception to this, IMO.

I think the mindset of people in the justice system, and the left leaning hierarchy is that "his intentions were good" because it is against the racist Trump Administration and supporters.  Let's get involved and give him a pass.
#16
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@DBlaze
remember the muslim female who said white men either tried or ripped her head dress off?  only that never happened either....there's been a couple more similar fake instances.  the president set by no punishment isn't going to be good.  This is a banner for which racist can rally behind and push those on the fence closer to that side.  The untended consequences won't be immediate but I believe there will be some.  There is no benefit to further polarization of races that I can think of, but here we are.
They could have and should have made an example of him to deter copay cat future incidents.  Their forethought was non existent

I hope the feds can and do bring proper charges for the reasons I've stated above.
#17
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@TheDredPriateRoberts
They can charge him for the hoax mail he sent, with the Tylenol, hopefully give him the maximum sentence in lieu of all the charges dropped in the State case.
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#18
Castin
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@Outplayz
"Well it was only his first offense" just seems like a pretty weak salve for all that. Idk, maybe this is why I'm not a litigator. 
Well... in something like 95% of cases people take plea deals. He likely had a really good lawyer that got him out of this one. I didn't know he is still denying it... i sorta want to take back what i said. He likely does deserve at least jail time to scare him straight (pun? maybe). The law just works in mysteries ways man... actually, no, the law favors those with lots of money and good lawyers. It's kinda sad. I hate it more that he's making money off all this junk... so, his plan ultimately worked. It's additionally sad this world favors the psychopaths and narcissists.
It's not that this ended in a plea deal. It's that the terms of the plea deal did not hold him accountable in any way and favored him so disproportionately.

A plea deal is supposed to be a compromise. What did Smollett have to compromise on? $10,000 and two days of community service is nothing. It's absolutely nothing. He makes more than that amount per minute on Empire. She basically just let him off scot-free.

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#19
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Now I'm hearing that Kim Foxx sort-of-but-not-really tried to recuse herself earlier in the Smollett case. Wtf. If she felt she couldn't be impartial, why did she stay on the case? Can she be objective or can't she? If there was any doubt as to that, why was she part of the decision making process?

And as expected, Smollett has refused to pay out the $130,000. They're demanding that he pay them back for a fake crime he won't admit he faked. Signing the check is admitting his guilt.

#20
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@Castin
They should be able to win the civil suit, as it doesn't matter if he is guilty or not of the hoax. They only need to prove that he was liable for the hoax.
#21
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@Castin
A plea deal is supposed to be a compromise. What did Smollett have to compromise on? $10,000 and two days of community service is nothing. It's absolutely nothing. He makes more than that amount per minute on Empire. She basically just let him off scot-free.
Yeah... i don't know. Did he have some pull? Was it some kind of back room thing? Who knows. However, i just read the police department has a civil case against him... let the lawsuits began. Unfortunately however, he is getting what he wanted and that does kinda stink. This world is weird... things like this regarding celebrities just aren't that shocking to me anymore. They are in the "in-crowd" you know... 

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#22
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@Outplayz
The prosecutor, Kim Foxx, was in contact with the suspect's family while the case was going on, exchanging personal texts with them.

I guess his family was also friendly with the Obama administration, because a woman who once served as Michelle Obama's aid reached out to Foxx on the Smollett family's behalf.

I'm hearing that, at the family's behest, Foxx also asked police chiefs to hand the case over to the FBI. Maybe trying to get it out of the hands of the local PD, who were all uniformly certain of his guilt? I don't know, I need to hear more information about that one.

But in general it's looking like she was too friendly with the family. That's why she said she would recuse herself. Then later the prosecutor's office said she only meant recusal in a "colloquial" sense, not a "legal" sense. Baffling.
#23
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@Castin
I swear... our world is run my narcissists, psychopaths, and sociopaths (or a combination thereof). At least, i keep getting the feeling like it is. I'm sure there are good people... but i feel like they're out numbered.  
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#24
Castin
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@Greyparrot
They should be able to win the civil suit, as it doesn't matter if he is guilty or not of the hoax. They only need to prove that he was liable for the hoax.
If there's enough to find him liable there was enough to find him guilty. Harrumph.

Seems like a fine line in the eyes of the public, at least. He'll fight the civil suit tooth and claw. It's just as much of a threat to his public image.

I want them to outright reopen the criminal case against him. And unseal the records. That was another thing, the judge who handled his case ordered all the records permanently sealed, so the public will never see the full weight of the evidence against Smollett. It's like someone cleaned this up and swept it under the rug so neatly.

But I suppose double jeopardy would apply.

#25
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@Castin
I mean, that's how OJ got justice...through a civil suit which he lost that then pressured him to go do something dumb like get caught threatening a person with a gun. There's multiple ways the law can get you.
#26
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@SamStevens
 Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said that the city is sending Smollett the bill for the investigative work in the hoax, which is $130,000. 

Emanuel made clear that [....]Trump helped create the toxic atmosphere that allowed Smollett to think he could get away with staging a hoax. 

Maybe Mayor Rahm Emanuel with an estimated net worth of $11,441,530  [2010], would like to chip in a few dollars to assist  Jessie - the smug slug -  Smollett with this financial burden, which wasn't created by  Donald - the great, fantastic and brilliant - Trump. does anyone know if this bill has been issued?
#27
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@Outplayz
It was likely his first offense. The law is usually lenient on you for certain offenses if it's your first offense.
It seem you haven't taken into account that the repercussions this type of "crime" sometimes results in, fake or not.  If Smollett had have been believed ( as the world press were so so quick to do so, without proof)  the retaliation from this could have been chaotic and violent.

Smollett should have been in prison for behaviour likely to cause civil unrest.
#28
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@Stephen
Smollett should have been in prison for behaviour likely to cause civil unrest.
Yeah... also i didn't know he's still being a pussy bitch about it. I think he should have gotten time at this point... i'm starting to feel confident money and connections got him out of it. This is well known among lawyers. I work for a couple, and the criminal one doesn't like doing criminal anymore bc he noticed how corrupt and dangerous it can be. He tells me don't mess around with that... money always wins in the end of the day. Well, that's almost true in all cases... but most cases it's money that keeps you in it or gets you a good lawyer... but there are cases money just buys you out of trouble. 

#29
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@Castin

I think you'll find this interesting. This guy is a really good at what he does... he had 20 other videos youtube keeps taking down. He's a beast in analyzing criminal minds and interrogation. 
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#30
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@Greyparrot
I mean, that's how OJ got justice...through a civil suit which he lost that then pressured him to go do something dumb like get caught threatening a person with a gun. There's multiple ways the law can get you.
True, though I hope we can agree that it falls terribly short of true justice.

And all Smollett has to pay is $130,000. I think OJ had to pay more than $30 million. If Smollett loses his civil suit, I don't expect we'll be seeing him in the news threatening anyone with a gun.

At least in OJ's case the prosecutors actually tried.