Smollett’s grandmother asks judge not to send him to prison

By DON BABWIN and KATHLEEN FOODY
Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Jussie Smollett’s grandmother says her grandson is a “justice warrior” and asked a judge Thursday not to include jail time in his sentence for Smollett’s conviction of lying to police in a staged hate crime. Sentencing for Smollett began shortly after Cook County Judge James Linn upheld the jury’s verdict from December that found Smollett, who is Black and gay, guilty of five felony counts of disorderly conduct. The verdict followed a trial in which prosecutors presented evidence that Smollett planned the racist and homophobic attack. Molly Smollett, Jussie Smollett’s grandmother, testified for the defense at Smollett’s sentencing, and urged Linn not to “send him to prison.”