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Rafe wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 6:22 pm Smollett verdict: guilty on first 5 counts, not guilty on count 6. No real details yet; no cameras inside courtroom. But he was found guilty of staging a purported hate crime on himself.

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/jussie-smollett-trial

Paladin wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 6:31 pm

Rafe wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 6:22 pm Smollett verdict: guilty on first 5 counts, not guilty on count 6. No real details yet; no cameras inside courtroom. But he was found guilty of staging a purported hate crime on himself.

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/jussie-smollett-trial

Hate hoax's are so destructive they need to be severely punished. Putting an end to hate means ending these hoax's that have become rampant. Now maybe we can get rid of the guy who said bridges are racist.

Paladin wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 6:31 pm
Hate hoax's are so destructive they need to be severely punished. Putting an end to hate means ending these hoax's that have become rampant. Now maybe we can get rid of the guy who said bridges are racist.

chasfm11 wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:13 pm

Paladin wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 6:31 pm
Hate hoax's are so destructive they need to be severely punished. Putting an end to hate means ending these hoax's that have become rampant. Now maybe we can get rid of the guy who said bridges are racist.

The question is: will he really be punished? At least 3 years of prison would be punishment - community service is not. And I have no illusions that this will end the false racism hoaxes. i was nearby when Sharpton pulled the Tawana Brawley fiasco for which he has never paid any price. Until there is a pattern of punishment against such false claims, they will continue.

chasfm11 wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:13 pm
The question is: will he really be punished? At least 3 years of prison would be punishment - community service is not. And I have no illusions that this will end the false racism hoaxes. i was nearby when Sharpton pulled the Tawana Brawley fiasco for which he has never paid any price. Until there is a pattern of punishment against such false claims, they will continue.

Rafe wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:43 pm

chasfm11 wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:13 pm
The question is: will he really be punished? At least 3 years of prison would be punishment - community service is not. And I have no illusions that this will end the false racism hoaxes. i was nearby when Sharpton pulled the Tawana Brawley fiasco for which he has never paid any price. Until there is a pattern of punishment against such false claims, they will continue.

I'm hopeful on this one. There seem to be a lot of factors working against Smollett, and I'd be surprised if he gets off with a slap on the wrist...even in Chicago. One factor an interviewed defense attorney brought up was that this was a bit different than a simple innocent-or-guilty scenario. He said perhaps the defense's greatest mistake was letting Smollett take the stand. Since he is was accused of staging the incident, then if the verdict repudiated his statements--which it has--then he wasn't committing simple perjury under oath...it was a planned and premeditated action. In other words, there can be no presumption of remorse in hoping for leniency because the very nature of the continued sham and perjury precludes remorse. This was a despicable act done purely for self-aggrandizement. I would hope that narcissistic motive weighs into the penalty, as well.

BTW, count 6, the one that came back not guilty, was (near as I can understand it) the wearing of a hood or mask to conceal one's identity during the commission of aggravated assault. He claimed his "attackers" put a hood over his head, but the not-guilty makes perfect sense because Smollett wasn't trying to conceal his identity...he couldn't wait to announce the purported blow-by-blow to the world everywhere he could get air-time, including (like our buddy Alec Baldwin) a prime-time segment on ABC news.

“So let’s be clear: we love everybody in our community — we can never believe police, especially the CPD over Jussie Smollett, a Black man who has been courageously present, visible, and vocal in the struggle for Black freedom,” BLM and BLM LA said in a statement to TMZ before the verdict.

After Smollett was found guilty, BLM L.A. leader Melina Abdullah told the outlet that the group’s stance has not changed — the Empire actor has their full support.

The full report also provides further detail about Foxx’s false statements that Smollett had no prior criminal record — when, as the 12-page report said, “a prior misdemeanor conviction out of California from September 22, 2007 for DUI, driving without a license, and giving false information to the police, for which he was placed on 24 months of probation.” The full 60-page report adds that false statements about Smollett’s record were “particularly troubling” because his prior conviction “related, in part, to making a false statement to police,” and was therefore similar to the present case in Chicago.

The newly-released report also delves into the question of Foxx’s false statements to the public that the evidence was too weak to convict Smollett — after she had said the opposite just days before, confusing everyone and raising suspicions.

The full report does not explain why Foxx dropped charges against Smollett, even though it found that she lied about when she stopped talking to Smollett’s family and continued to receive updates about the case after she had recused herself from it.