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.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.
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.