{"id":1114021,"date":"2021-12-13T09:44:11","date_gmt":"2021-12-13T14:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1114021"},"modified":"2021-12-13T09:44:15","modified_gmt":"2021-12-13T14:44:15","slug":"juror-on-smollett-case-speaks-out-we-all-thought-we-were-doing-jussie-a-favor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/juror-on-smollett-case-speaks-out-we-all-thought-we-were-doing-jussie-a-favor\/","title":{"rendered":"Juror On Smollett Case Speaks Out: \u2018We All Thought We Were Doing Jussie A Favor\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjuror-on-smollett-case-speaks-out-we-all-thought-we-were-doing-jussie-a-favor%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1114021&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A juror who sat on the case of actor Jussie Smollett <a href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/2021\/12\/10\/22828351\/jussie-smollett-juror-interview-hate-crime-hoax\">told<\/a> the Chicago Sun-Times that the she felt the jury was doing Smollett a \u201cfavor\u201d by finding him not guilty on one out of the six counts of disorderly conduct related to a 2019 hate crime hoax.<\/p>\n<p>The jury was confused on what specifically was being asked to find Smollett guilty on the sixth count of disorderly conduct, explained the juror, who has remained anonymous. So, they did not find 39-year-old guilty on the count, which the juror said felt like a \u201cfavor to Jussie,\u201d the Sun-Times reported Friday:<\/p>\n<p id=\"r8YjGu\"><em>The jury in Jussie Smollett\u2019s trial felt they were doing him \u201ca favor\u201d when they convicted the former \u201cEmpire\u201d actor on five counts of disorderly conduct, but not a sixth, one of the jurors told the Sun-Times Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n<p id=\"Kqpa22\"><em>The decision was one the jury struggled with, the juror said.<\/em><\/p>\n<p id=\"A0jX0M\"><em>In the end, \u201cwe all thought we were doing Jussie a favor,\u201d said the juror, who asked not to be named.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were told it was an aggravated battery because he said they were wearing a mask,\u201d the juror explained, adding that \u201cin all [of Smollett\u2019s] accounts of what happened, he mentioned a mask.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Sun-Times reported that the juror noted that \u201cif prosecutors had charged all the battery counts the same,\u201d Smollett would have likely been found guilty on all six counts.<\/p>\n<p>The juror noted during the interview that the jury was reluctant to quickly find Smollett guilty on all counts, noting the actor\u2019s elderly mother in the courtroom and the possibility that Smollett could serve time in prison.<\/p>\n<p id=\"r8YjGu\">\u201cIt wasn\u2019t an easy decision,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got the mother sitting there. You feel bad. We didn\u2019t know what the penalty would be. Are we sending this guy to jail?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was not evenly split, but there were some doubters,\u201d the juror continued, adding,&nbsp;\u201cI just hope that [Smollett and his legal team] know that we went in there with an open mind. I listened to both sides. We wanted to make sure that those who had doubts didn\u2019t feel pressured.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It appeared to the juror that Smollett\u2019s defense attorney was \u201cjust shooting from the hip,\u201d while prosecution seemed more convincing, she added.<\/p>\n<p>Back in January 2019, Smollett claimed he was targeted and attacked by apparent supporters of then-President Donald Trump in an anti-gay, anti-black hate crime. His alleged attackers, whom he allegedly described as white males who yelled \u201cThis is MAGA country,\u201d were brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo. Notably, the brothers are both black men who knew the \u201cEmpire\u201d star before the incident and have claimed Smollett orchestrated the \u201choax.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A jury on Thursday found Smollett guilty on five counts of disorderly conduct related to the incident. He has not yet been sentenced, but is facing up to&nbsp;three years in prison on each count, NBC Chicago <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcchicago.com\/news\/local\/jussie-smollett-verdict-what-he-was-found-guilty-of-and-whats-next-in-the-legal-saga\/2704278\/\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/chief-who-arrested-smollett-says-sandwich-tipped-off-authorities-maybe-wouldve-let-off-with-apology\">Chief Who Arrested Smollett Says Sandwich Tipped Off Authorities, Maybe Would\u2019ve Let Off With&nbsp;Apology<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Related:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/jussie-smollett-can-rest-knowing-that-his-attacker-has-been-convicted-social-media-erupts-following-verdict\">\u2018Jussie Smollett Can Rest Knowing That His Attacker Has Been Convicted\u2019: Social Media Erupts Following&nbsp;Verdict<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\">member<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A juror who sat on the case of actor Jussie Smollett told the Chicago Sun-Times that the she felt the jury was doing Smollett a \u201cfavor\u201d by finding him not guilty on one out of the six counts of disorderly conduct related to a 2019 hate crime hoax.The jury was confused on what specifically was being asked to find Smollett guilty on the sixth count of disorderly conduct, explained the juror, who has remained anonymous. So, they did not find 39-year-old guilty on the count, which the juror said felt like a \u201cfavor to Jussie,\u201d the Sun-Times reported Friday:The jury in Jussie Smollett\u2019s trial felt they were doing him \u201ca favor\u201d when they convicted the former \u201cEmpire\u201d actor on five counts of disorderly conduct, but not a sixth, one of the jurors told the Sun-Times Friday.The decision was one the jury struggled with, the juror said.In the end, \u201cwe all thought we were doing Jussie a favor,\u201d said the juror, who asked not to be named.\u201cWe were told it was an aggravated battery because he said they were wearing a mask,\u201d the juror explained, adding that \u201cin all [of Smollett\u2019s] accounts of what happened, he mentioned a mask.\u201dThe Sun-Times reported that the juror noted that \u201cif prosecutors had charged all the battery counts the same,\u201d Smollett would have likely been found guilty on all six counts.The juror noted during the interview that the jury was reluctant to quickly find Smollett guilty on all counts, noting the actor\u2019s elderly mother in the courtroom and the possibility that Smollett could serve time in prison.\u201cIt wasn\u2019t an easy decision,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got the mother sitting there. You feel bad. We didn\u2019t know what the penalty would be. Are we sending this guy to jail?\u201d\u201cIt was not evenly split, but there were some doubters,\u201d the juror continued, adding,\u00a0\u201cI just hope that [Smollett and his legal team] know that we went in there with an open mind. I listened to both sides. We wanted to make sure that those who had doubts didn\u2019t feel pressured.\u201dIt appeared to the juror that Smollett\u2019s defense attorney was \u201cjust shooting from the hip,\u201d while prosecution seemed more convincing, she added.Back in January 2019, Smollett claimed he was targeted and attacked by apparent supporters of then-President Donald Trump in an anti-gay, anti-black hate crime. His alleged attackers, whom he allegedly described as white males who yelled \u201cThis is MAGA country,\u201d were brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo. Notably, the brothers are both black men who knew the \u201cEmpire\u201d star before the incident and have claimed Smollett orchestrated the \u201choax.\u201dA jury on Thursday found Smollett guilty on five counts of disorderly conduct related to the incident. He has not yet been sentenced, but is facing up to\u00a0three years in prison on each count, NBC Chicago reported.Related:\u00a0Chief Who Arrested Smollett Says Sandwich Tipped Off Authorities, Maybe Would\u2019ve Let Off With\u00a0ApologyRelated:\u00a0\u2018Jussie Smollett Can Rest Knowing That His Attacker Has Been Convicted\u2019: Social Media Erupts Following\u00a0VerdictThe Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1114021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1114021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1114021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1114021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1114021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}