Last week, Jussie Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail, 30 months of felony probation, and ordered to pay restitution of more than $120,000. Smollett was also charged a $25,000 fine for lying on police reports in a fake hate crime hoax.
Empire actress Taraji P. Henson, Smollett’s TV mother, is the first cast member, at least publicly, to speak on her former coworker’s punishment. She does not believe that the punishment fits the crime and makes a comparison to the Emmett Till
murder. Henson took to her Instagram and sent a message to her 19 million followers as she pleaded #freejussie.“I am not here to debate you on his innocence but we can agree that the punishment does not fit the crime,” Henson said.
“Emmett Till was brutally beat and ultimately murdered because of a lie and none of the people involved with his demise spent one day in jail, even after Carolyn Bryant admitted that her claims were false. No one was hurt or killed during Jussie’s ordeal. He has already lost everything, EVERYTHING! To me as an artist not able to create that in itself is punishment enough. He can’t get a job. No one in Hollywood will hire him and again as an artist who loves to create, that is prison. My prayer is that he is freed and put on house arrest and probation because in this case that would seem fair. Please #freejussie 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾.”
Smollett’s brother, Jocqui, stated on Instagram that his brother has been placed in a psych ward at Cook County Jail but denies that he has suicidal ideations.
Jocqui shared that they are concerned because a note was attached to his paperwork and placed on the front of his cell saying that he’s at risk of self-harm.
Daily Mail reported that the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in Chicago has stated that Smollett is not being held in solitary confinement. They put out a statement saying that the use of “solitary confinement was abolished” at the Cook County Jail in 2016. Any claims that he is being held in that manner are not true.