Jussie Smollett sentenced to 150 days in jail for faking a hate crime.

 

Jussie Smollett at his sentencing hearing. USA Today/AP.

Jussie Smollett, who was convicted of faking a hate crime, has been sentenced to 150 days in jail. USA Today. Smollett will also face  $120,106 in restitution and ordered to pay a $25,000 fine. Smollett claimed he was innocent and that he wasn't suicidal. The judge also dismissed attempts by the defense to overturn the verdict, stating that Smollett had a fair trial. Smollett was convicted with five accounts of felony disorderly conduct for lying to the police about a fake attack where he claimed two white men attacked him because of his race and sexuality. 

My Comment:

I've got mixed feelings on this outcome. On the one hand I am happy that Smollett is serving any time at all. I was half convinced that the judge would have given Smollett a slap on the wrist and let him go with time served. Thankfully he will at least be serving some time in jail. 

But I do think that this sentence is incredibly weak considering what he actually did. Smollett faked a hate crime, tried to blame random white people for it and made racial tensions even worse. If it were up to me he'd face the maximum sentence possible and then some. 150 days in jail is a weak sentence and Smollett deserves more. 

I do think that Smollett should be put on suicide watch given his comments. Smollett's specific denial of being suicidal makes me think he is actually going to do it. He wants to be a martyr so I wouldn't be surprised if he kills himself. In his mind it would save his reputation as he now has a built in conspiracy theory about what happened to him after his self inflicted death. 

I also think that Smollett continues to not understand that he is not anywhere near as important as he thinks he is. He honestly thought that the average Trump supporter knew who he was and cared about him enough that faking an attack on himself was in anyway plausible. Indeed, I had never heard of Smollett before he faked his attack or of his show, Empire. The idea that someone would think he was important enough to kill him in prison is stupid. 

Of course, I don't think Smollett is very smart at all. After all, he honestly thought that he could claim that a couple of white Trump supporters would be in Chicago in the middle of the night during one of the coldest days of the year without anyone questioning it. He also somehow thinks that people still have any sympathy for him at all. 

Though I am glad that Smollett is going to face some punishment, I am still angry that many of the people that supported him are getting off the hook. People like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris repeated Smollett's lies uncritically. To date these people have not taken back their statements backing Smollett.