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Jussie Smollett’s team is trying to get the actor out of jail while his appeal is pending. His lawyers have filed court papers, hinting that he is in danger while he is behind bars.
In an emergency motion that is described as a “registration statement” filed on Friday and received by Fox News Digital on Monday, lawyers for the former Empire star, 39, are asking the judge to delay consideration of the 150-year-old Smollett. the day of the verdict and/or grant bail to the actor pending the status of his legal appeal.
“Mr. Smollett has been the target of vicious threats on social media forums, which no doubt reflects the hatred and desire for physical harm towards Smollett that he may experience while incarcerated,” the statement said. On Monday, TMZ shared allegedly “offensive” messages to Smollett’s siblings targeting the actor.
“Mr. Smollett expects that he will most likely be given separate custody or protective custody, both euphemisms for solitary confinement; a situation that could cause extreme damage to his mental health,” the statement said. “As a result, any placement in custody is a danger to the life and health of Mr. Smollett.”
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The Cook County Sheriff’s Office said Smollett was being held, typical of inmates “who are potentially at risk of harm due to the nature of their charges, their profession, or their notable status.”
The sheriff’s office said his own camera was being monitored by security cameras, and an officer with a body camera was standing at the door. Smollett can spend “significant time” in common areas to talk on the phone, watch TV and interact with staff, but other detainees will not be in common areas with him.
Smollett was immediately imprisoned in the Cook County Jail in Illinois after his sentencing hearing. Smollett is at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 while serving his five-month sentence due to a weakened immune system, according to a doctor’s affidavit that was included in the filing of his release appeal.
“I have been asked to analyze whether the imprisonment of Mr. Jussie Smollett in an Illinois state prison poses a potentially lethal risk to his health from an epidemiological and medical point of view,” Dr. Michael D. Freeman said in an affidavit.
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“In my opinion, the imprisonment or imprisonment of Mr. Smollett constitutes a substantially increased risk to his health,” it says, adding that given the fact that, as of March 6, the coronavirus pandemic “has caused more than 445 lives “. million cases and approximately 6 million deaths worldwide, making it the deadliest pandemic in recent history”,… “imprisonment or imprisonment poses an increased risk to Mr. Smollett’s health, given his current state of health, including weakened immunity. .”
On Saturday, Jocky Smollett, brother of Jussie Smollett, said he has since been transferred to a psychiatric hospital due to “risking self-harm”.
Jussie Smollett (Cook County Sheriff’s Office, via AP)
“I want to make it clear that he is not at risk of self-harm in any way,” Jocky Smollett said. “He wants people to know that he is very stable, he is very strong, he is very healthy and ready to take on the challenge that … has been thrown at him.”
Actor Jussie Smollett speaks to Judge James Lynn after the verdict is announced at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on Thursday, March 10, 2022, in Chicago. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via AP, Poole)
Jockie Smollett warned against the media and others spreading “false information”. “So please make sure you all spread the facts. We really need the support of our people,” he said.
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After being ordered into custody to start serving 150 days in jail, the actor addressed the court one last time, despite saying he had nothing to say before the verdict was announced.
Smollett stood up and affirmed his innocence in an impassioned statement to Cook County Judge James Lynn, saying, “I’m not suicidal.”
Former Empire actor Jussie Smollett was found guilty of lying to police when he reported that two masked men physically assaulted him while shouting racist and anti-gay remarks outside his Chicago home in 2019. Smollett was found guilty on five of the six counts against him. . (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“I respect you, Your Honor,” Smollett said, folding his hands in a gesture towards the bench. “I respect your decision. Jail? I’m not suicidal… If something happens to me there, I didn’t do it myself!”
Smollett was then surrounded by sheriff’s deputies before he was escorted out of the courtroom, but not before raising his right fist in the air on his way out.
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Lynn also gave Smollett a 30-month suspended sentence. Smollett was also ordered to pay $120,106 in restitution to the City of Chicago.
Janelle Ash of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.