CHICAGO — In a scathing ruling that was to send Jussie Smollett to jail for the first few months of his probation sentence, Cook County Judge James Linn last week told the convicted actor that “sometimes the hammer of justice has to fall.”
Less than a week later, an Illinois appellate court lifted Linn’s hammer back up — at least partially. Smollett walked out of custody Wednesday evening after two appeals court judges agreed his 150-day jail sentence should be put on hold while his appeal is pending.
That decision, however, applied only to Smollett’s jail sentence, which Linn had ordered would begin immediately, perhaps anticipating the appeal move and ensuring Smollett spend at least some days behind bars. The actor still must serve the 30-month probation term while his case makes his way through the higher courts, and he is still on the hook to pay more than $120,000 in restitution, according to his legal team.
