The Illinois Supreme Court overturned actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction Thursday on charges that he staged an attack against himself in Chicago in 2019 and then lied about it. Smollett appealed his conviction, arguing a special prosecutor in Cook County should not have intervened after his charges were initially dropped. The actor, who is Black and gay, claimed in 2019 that two men assaulted him in an attack he described as racist and homophobic. The claim led to a search for suspects and international concern for the “Empire” actor. He was convicted of lying in 2021 but maintained his innocence. Smollett appealed his conviction last year, but an Illinois appeals court upheld the verdict, siding with Cook County. His lawyers then appealed that decision higher, bringing it to the state Supreme Court. In their ruling Thursday, the justices said they were aware Smollett’s case has “generated significant public interest” and many people were “dissatisfied” with the resolution of the original case, calling it "unjust." “Nevertheless, what would be more unjust than the resolution of any one criminal case would be a holding from this court that the State was not bound to honor agreements upon which people have detrimentally relied,” they wrote. During Smollett’s trial, testimony indicated the star paid two men he knew $3,500 to carry out the attack. He testified he was the victim of a hate crime. In 2022, he was sentenced to 150 days in jail but served only six days before getting out to appeal. The actor was also given 30 months of probation and ordered to pay $130,000 in restitution.