Jussie-Smollett jury reached verdict.
On Thursday, Smollett returned to court after eight hours of deliberations in which he learned his fate. He was accompanied by his family. Smollett should find out his fate by 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
This trial lasted less than two weeks. It ended Wednesday after five hours of closing arguments. During which Smollett was called a “serial liar” by the prosecution.
Police had claimed that Abimbola Osundairo, Olabinjo Ola Osundairo were his brothers from Nigeria. He denies paying them to orchestrate the attack on him to increase his fame.
Although his attorney didn’t give a reason for their lies, it was possible that Abel and Ola were hiding that they were gay, as well as that they wanted Abel to employ them to protect him from being spooked into believing that he would need them.
This case is now over three years since Smollett initially claimed that he was a victim of hate crime.
Jussie Mollett is seen outside the courtroom Wednesday. On Thursday, a jury returned a verdict in his case.
Smollett, along with his brothers Olabinjo Osundairo and Abimbola Osundairo are accused of planning a homophobic and racist attack. Although the brothers admitted to taking part in the plot, Smollett is accused of planning it all.
Pictured are the Osundairo brothers following the Feb 2019 ‘attack’ Smollett.
Smollett was now 39 and was well supported by his family during the trial. This is the same support he’s had over the past three year.
It is not clear to him why his brothers came to visit him that night, even if they were not trying to assault him like he had instructed.
He claimed that his brothers tried to convince him to retract the accusations that he had paid them to set up the attack and that they offered to alter their stories if he provided them with $2million.
Although his lawyers claimed both the brothers were highly skilled and experienced criminals, only one brother has a criminal conviction.
The fact that Smollett was called to testify shocked legal experts. The ‘disaster,’ they said was an ingenious attempt to either mislead the jury or to save their defense.
On Wednesday, the prosecutors highlighted that during closing arguments,
After Kim Foxx dropped the first set of charges against him, Special Prosecutor Dan Webb was appointed to take over the case in 2020. This decision was widely criticised as an example nepotism.
One of Smollett’s sisters had been with her in the weeks, days, and months before his arrest or as a suspect.
Tina Chen was Michelle Obama’s friend and associate, who also helped to found #MeToo. Chen claims that Chen was not trying to influence the investigation. Smollett, however, was at the time a victim.