Appeals court to rule if Jussie Smollett should stay in jail

By DON BABWIN
Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Jussie Smollett’s attorneys want the actor released from jail while they appeal his conviction of lying to Chicago police about a racist and homophobic attack and the 150-day jail sentence a judge handed down. They have turned to a state appeals court for help. The attorneys say Smollett should be allowed to be set free in large part because he will certainly have completed his sentence well before his appeals run their course. The court is expected to move quickly and could have an answer within days or even hours of when the special prosecutor files his response this week to Smollett’s attorneys’ motion.