After being incarcerated for less than a week, Jussie Smollett has officially been released from Cook County Jail.
On Wednesday (March 16), an Illinois Appellate Court made the decision—voted 2–1—to cut down his 150-day sentence pending appeal despite being denied last week.
The Appellate Court judge stated that the Empire actor would have likely served his full sentence before the appeal would have been granted. The court also noted that Smollett has never been convicted of a violent crime and the only real demand was for him put up a $150,000 personal recognizance bond.
Amid the viral #FreeJussie campaign, his defense attorney Nenye Uche told the press that Smollett ate no food during the past week and only drank water. Prior to his release, Smollett’s brother, Jocqui provided the update that he’d been removed from the psych ward.
“Thank you so much for the support, all the hashtag #FreeJussie, it’s working. He’s now been moved to a new jail cell out of the psych ward that has a bed. I want to just make it clear to folks that he is in no way shape or form at risk to self-harm, and he wants to let folks know that, that he is very stable. He is very strong, he is very healthy and ready to take on the challenge that ultimately has been put up against him. This is not right. This is a complete lack of justice. It’s angering, it’s an outrage,” Jocqui wrote on Instagram.
Smollett was sentenced on Thursday, March 10 to 150 days in jail for falsely reporting a hate crime. He was also ordered to pay restitution of more than $120,000, a $25,000 fine, and will be on felony probation for 30 months.