Jussie Smollett attacked with bleach and noose

[jadenova]

Can you imagine if the cops didn't figure out this thing was fake and two innocent people were arrested.

[jadenova]

Between this and the Jazmine Barnes shooting this will make me question whether a hate crime committed against a black person in the future really did happen or if it's a lie.

[Darth Wedgius]

FWiW, as fishy as it sounded to me, when the story first broke I believed Smollett too. It sounded fishy enough that I didn't want to react to it until more info came in, but on the whole I believed it. It's easier to believe racist homophobes would do something irrational (after all, what kind of racist or homophobe are you if you balk at irrationality?) than a successful actor.

For me, the "this is MAGA country" part was the step too far. That is only the kind of thing someone who imagines all MAGA supporters are nothing but a bunch of racist white men thinks they would say. Being Native, I've met my fair share of racists, and they generally tend to stick to slurs. I mean, it's always possible some Richard Spencer moron actually would say something like that, which is why I reserved judgement, but it was a hint in that direction. Liberals don't seem to be able to get into the heads of conservatives as the other way around, so something like this was kind of a red flag for me. And given how cold it was at the time, those would have to be some pretty dedicated racist homophobes.

There was a study where this was shown. Conservatives could predict the reactions of liberals far better than liberals could predict the reactions of conservatives.

[Karha of Honor]

FWiW, as fishy as it sounded to me, when the story first broke I believed Smollett too. It sounded fishy enough that I didn't want to react to it until more info came in, but on the whole I believed it. It's easier to believe racist homophobes would do something irrational (after all, what kind of racist or homophobe are you if you balk at irrationality?) than a successful actor.

For me, the "this is MAGA country" part was the step too far. That is only the kind of thing someone who imagines all MAGA supporters are nothing but a bunch of racist white men thinks they would say. Being Native, I've met my fair share of racists, and they generally tend to stick to slurs. I mean, it's always possible some Richard Spencer moron actually would say something like that, which is why I reserved judgement, but it was a hint in that direction. Liberals don't seem to be able to get into the heads of conservatives as the other way around, so something like this was kind of a red flag for me. And given how cold it was at the time, those would have to be some pretty dedicated racist homophobes.

There was a study where this was shown. Conservatives could predict the reactions of liberals far better than liberals could predict the reactions of conservatives.

[CharlesPhipps]

Smollett has been cleared of all charges.

This is causing a bunch of crow-eating because, well, the media turned on him as soon as the charges were filed. Others like me, dropped the coverage of the story because we believed that everyone was showing nothing but bias and racism with no regard to "innocent until proven guilty."

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loc ... story.html

In a stunning reversal, Cook County prosecutors on Tuesday dropped all charges against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett on disorderly conduct charges for allegedly staging a phony attack and claiming he was the victim of a hate crime.

“We believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case,” a prosecutor said in announcing the dismissal of all 16 counts.

There had been no clue that prosecutors planned the about-face move before the announcement. A publicist for Smollett’s attorney was the first to notify the news media Tuesday morning, issuing an alert that did not elaborate on the nature of the emergency.

Moments after Judge Steven Watkins allowed the dismissal, attorneys for Smollett issued a statement.

"Today, all criminal charges against Jussie Smollett were dropped and his record has been wiped clean of the filing of this tragic complaint against him,” the statement said. “Jussie was attacked by two people he was unable to identify on January 29th. He was a victim who was vilified and made to appear as a perpetrator as a result of false and inappropriate remarks made to the public causing an inappropriate rush to judgement.

“Jussie and many others were hurt by these unfair and unwarranted actions,” the statement continued. “This entire situation is a reminder that there should never be an attempt to prove a case in the court of public opinion. That is wrong. It is a reminder that a victim, in this case Jussie, deserves dignity and respect. Dismissal of charges against the victim in this case was the only just result.

“Jussie is relieved to have this situation behind him and is very much looking forward to getting back to focusing on his family, friends and career."

The 36-year-old actor, who was free on $100,000 bond, has previously denied lying to police or faking the attack.

[LittleRaven]

Area Central Detective Cmdr. Edward Wodnicki, whose detectives led the investigation into Smollett, said prosecutors gave him no heads up to police that the charges would be dropped. He also expressed concern that it left it looking as if police mishandled the investigation. He said detectives uncovered “overwhelming” evidence against Smollett.

“It’s absolutely a punch in the gut,” Wodnicki told a Tribune reporter. “We worked very, very closely throughout our three-week investigation to get to the point where we arrested the offender. So for the state’s attorney’s office at this point to dismiss the charges … without discussing this with us at all is just shocking.”

Someone got paid off. It's Chicago, so that's to be expected, I suppose.

[Admiral X]

Or it's just a case of transparent political bias. I suppose there could have been money involved, though. I bet CPD is pissed.

Incidentally, there's still that Federal investigation over the mail thing.

[CharlesPhipps]

They were bullshit charges to begin with.

But I suppose everyone is going to see what they want in this case.

Any lawyer would have torn the fact their "suspects" were kept for 48 hours with no lawyer apart. There's a reason those laws protecting people from police intimidation exist.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Area Central Detective Cmdr. Edward Wodnicki, whose detectives led the investigation into Smollett, said prosecutors gave him no heads up to police that the charges would be dropped. He also expressed concern that it left it looking as if police mishandled the investigation. He said detectives uncovered “overwhelming” evidence against Smollett.

“It’s absolutely a punch in the gut,” Wodnicki told a Tribune reporter. “We worked very, very closely throughout our three-week investigation to get to the point where we arrested the offender. So for the state’s attorney’s office at this point to dismiss the charges … without discussing this with us at all is just shocking.”

Someone got paid off. It's Chicago, so that's to be expected, I suppose.

But the state attorney is the one who dropped it?

[Madner Kami]

I'm a bit confused. I find it hard to believe, that previous statements by the police and the opening of the charges was completely unfounded in a case that is positioned like this. The only sensible conclusion I can draw is, that he wasn't relieved because the charges were unfounded, but because the investigation was mishandled grossly somewhere and the case would have been dismissed before a court because of a legal technicality.*

*Note, I am absolutely supporting the position, that misconduct in the investigation of an issue should lead to an automatic dismissal of the evidence for the misconduct found and, by consequence, the dismissal of charges if other evidence doesn't support the charge.