Tina Lawson On Jussie Smollett’s 5 Month Jail Sentence Over Hoax Hate Crime: “The Punishment Does Not Fit The Crime… Black People, We Cannot Afford To Let This Slide!”
As it was previously reported, actor Jussie Smollett was sentenced to five months in prison after being found guilty of falsely telling police he was the victim of a racist and homophobic hate crime in 2019 — an attack prosecutors said he himself staged. He was also ordered to pay $120,106 in restitution to the city of Chicago, and received a fine of $25,000, the maximum.
Following sentencing, many people spoke out in support of the entertainer including fellow “Empire” actress Taraji P. Henson. She wrote on Instagram: “I am not here to debate you on his innocence,” Henson wrote. “But we can agree that the punishment does not fit the crime. 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.” Before offering prayers she noted that “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.”
Beyoncé’s mother Tina Lawson has also decided to weigh in on Jussie Smollett’s situation and she too believes that he shouldn’t have received that jail time. She wrote this Wednesday: “No matter what opinion you have of whether or not Jussie Smollet did what he is accused of or not. The punishment does not fit the crime. People walk away free from killing our people everyday. How many instances of our young black people have been murdered in the last year, and the people whom they were with are walking free! And what about the people involved in the treason at the White House? Most went unpunished! And then they give this man five months in Jail. Are you kidding me?”
“This is unjust. This man is not a threat to society. This is an example of the disparities between how we are treated as opposed to our white counterparts. Black people we cannot afford to let this slide ! Trust me you and your family might be next! So let’s make some noise about this and ask for probation! The judge was obviously biased and very disrespectful and they wanted to disrespect and discredit the previous District Attorney Kim Fox’s who was a black woman. Please do your research about the case and look at the crime he is accused of and look at the time given him. they want to destroy this man. BTW If you have a difference in opinion I totally understand that but keep it positive ❤️🙏🏽”
So far, Jussie Smollett has been moved to a new sell amid his lawyer’s push for emergency release pending his appeal.
RELATED: UPDATE: Jussie Smollett Reportedly Moved Out Of ‘Psych Ward’ Thanks To Fans
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