Jussie Smollett to Be Released While Appealing Conviction

The Cook County appeals court ordered Jussie Smollett’s release from jail while he appeals his conviction, the New York Post reports. Smollett was convicted of faking a hate crime in December 2021 and wassentenced to 150 days in county jail on March 10. His Empire co-star Taraji P. Henson was among many who called the punishment excessive. “I am not here to debate you on his innocence but we can agree that the punishment does not fit the crime,” she wrote on Instagram, contrasting Smollett’s treatment with that of the woman who had falsely accused Emmett Till of whistling at her. “No one was hurt or killed during Jussie’s ordeal,” she wrote. “He…