'This is a whitewash of justice'

[chicagoshannon]

It's absolutely disgusting! They also sealed the record. Century 21 is standing behind him now according to a statement I saw earlier.

 

[mom2rtk]

Since when do people get credit for community service they have done in the past?

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I read that the judge agreed to drop the charges because the sentence for a guilty plea would be community service and apparently he’s already done an amount equal to that. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, just reporting what I read.

Stop interrupting our outrage with the completely meaningless reality that in the end, he pretty much got what he was going to get.

 

[mom2rtk]

It's absolutely disgusting! They also sealed the record. Century 21 is standing behind him now according to a statement I saw earlier.

Do you mean 20th Century Fox? You mean he gets to keep his role in the show?

I might have to watch an episode just so I can boycott.

 

[mom2rtk]

Stop interrupting our outrage with the completely meaningless reality that in the end, he pretty much got what he was going to get.

No, he didn't. People don't get to say "I'm a good person and did community service in the past" and they don't get to maintain innocence and have the record sealed.

 

[Floridaman999]

I bet his parents paid someone off to get him into college too. I can't even.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I care. He happily told loads of lies about Chicago.
He needs to own it.

I can't do anything about you being outraged that I'm not as outraged as you are. Nor will I try.

 

[gwynne]

I can't do anything about you being outraged that I'm not as outraged as you are. Nor will I try.

I don't expect you to.

I care about wasting the grand jury's time. I care about the funds and resources that were needlessly expended.
It's not about "outrage, " it's about basic decency, honesty and respect.

 

[Hikergirl]

He's innocent, just ask him.
If he isn't back on Empire I'm sure Subway would love to have him as their new spokesperson.

 

[JaxDad]

He will just go on Ellen and shed some more tears about equality and his fight for “marginalized people.” The idiots in the audience will cheer when the “Applaud” light comes on. The idiots watching at home will think, “He’s not so bad.” Boom! His career is right back on track!

 

[nd5056]

It's not about outrage. Would love to see me, you or anyone else on this Forum walk away from this with a bigger pat on the back then the slap on the hand.

A Cook County grand jury returns a 16-count felony indictment against Smollett

 

[Dakota731]

I’m sure he will get an award and a standing ovation at the next Hollywood awards show. This is what happens when a country worships celebrities - they can get away with anything. I feel sorry for the police officers who were just doing their jobs and wasted precious resources investigating this hoax.

 

[RedAngie]

What a slap in the face to the Chicago police who investigated and the grand jurors.

I'm guessing the defense attorneys found some significant dirt on the brothers that will seriously undermine their credibility at trial. The D.A. likely didn't want to risk that embarrassment being revealed and a possible acquittal.

Will he now complain that the Chicago police are refusing to search for his "real" attackers?

 

[RedAngie]

I’m sure he will get an award and a standing ovation at the next Hollywood awards show. This is what happens when a country worships celebrities - they can get away with anything. I feel sorry for the police officers who were just doing their jobs and wasted precious resources investigating this hoax.

I guess we'll have to wait and see. Despite the dropped charges, it appears that 95% of people will likely believe it was still a hoax.

 

[kimblebee]

I’m sure he will get an award and a standing ovation at the next Hollywood awards show. This is what happens when a country worships celebrities - they can get away with anything. I feel sorry for the police officers who were just doing their jobs and wasted precious resources investigating this hoax.

Worth points, or not worth points?

Nope, not today.

 

[Dakota731]

Dropped charges don’t mean innocence. It means that someone high up called in a favor to protect someone famous. The mayor and police chief stand by their investigation. Sadly it’s nothing new in this country where what we buy, who we vote for, and almost every facet of our lives is influenced by a Hollywood celebrity.

 

[disneychrista]

His bail was forfeited and he did community service. Similar diversion is offered every day all across the country to people in every walk of life.

Very true. BUT in most cases charges aren't dropped (at least where I am) for a year after said "diversion" is complete and the person "proves" they are not going to re-offend.

 

[cvjw]

Just read he completed 16 hours of community service over 2 days. That isn’t much

 

[Imzadi]

According to the lawyers on TMZ, over the last few weeks they had mentioned the many ways any trial could have ended with reasonable doubt and thus Smollett could have walked. two big details were how there were too many indictments that should have been concurrent. It made the Chicago Police Superintendent look like he was on a personal vendetta. Second, and perhaps most damaging to their case was the fact that the brothers admitted that Smollett gave them the check for body training - exactly as he wrote on the check. They said it was also for staging the attack on him. But, all the Defense needs is one juror to think that sounds weak, which introduces reasonable doubt and Smollett gets off.

THIS way, with the Prosecution letting him go, they have fully said, on record, that they still believe he did it. That once it would have been proven, he wouldn't have gotten much of a sentence. So they are letting him go with somewhat the sentence he would have gotten. (Inference: he's guilty.) That is different than if Smollett won the case and been exonerated.

Had Smollett won his case, many would have considered him innocent in the same way some believe Michael Jackson was innocent. No, Michael Jackson paid off his victims' families so the children wouldn't testify. So the Prosecution couldn't win their case. For many, who do not know how the courts really work, a not guilty verdict is not guilty/innocent. We don't have the third verdict that I read they have in England, of "Not proven." It's different than saying the defendant is innocent. Many times a jury will think the defendant did the crime, but the Prosecution just couldn't fully prove it.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I do not feel that this is the full consequences of the crimes committed.
Are we going to prosecute HATE CRIMES, or not.
How can we apply 'innocent until proven guilty, all efforts to prove guilt are just dropped?.

Shouldn't EVERY single one of us, as human beings, be outraged by 'hate crimes'.

Yes, I am disgusted and outraged, by the double standard.

Parents can go to jail for taking advantage of a very obvious rigged system, but a hate crime goes completely unprosecuted. Are you kidding me? Are you serious?