Hollywood couple Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson were among those to offer support for Jussie Smollett ahead of his sentencing on Thursday.
Letters from Jackson, his wife, an organizer with Black Lives Matter, and Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition were among those read Thursday in the Chicago courtroom, where Cook County Judge James Linn ultimately sentenced Smollett to 150 days in jail for lying to police in what authorities said was a staged hate crime.
Actor Samuel L. Jackson and wife LaTanya Richardson arrive for a film premiere in Hollywood, California, June 27, 2016. "Please save this young man and allow him to be of service. Jussie Smollett is worth the risk and the investment."The letters also urged the judge to consider how the case had impacted Smollett’s life, and career and hoped Smollett would avoid any confinement as part of his sentence. Other supporters warned that Smollett, who is Black and gay, would be at risk behind bars. They mentioned his race, sexual orientation, and his family’s Jewish heritage.
Actor Jussie Smollett appears with his attorneys at his sentencing hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, Thursday, March 10, 2022, in Chicago.