A black law professor at Georgetown wrote in the Washington Post that Jussie Smollett, the felonious hoaxer, should not go to jail? Why not? Excerpts:

I don’t believe Jussie Smollett but I recognize when a Black man gets railroaded through a justice system that is out to get him. A rich entitled actor is hardly the most sympathetic face of reform. Still, Smollett’s case demonstrates that when powerful elites decide they want a Black man locked up, nothing and nobody — not even the elected prosecutor — will stop them.

Butler believes Smollett committed the crime, but thinks he shouldn’t pay for it because he’s black? Really? Really. More:

Sending a Black gay man to jail for lying about being attacked will not encourage hate crime victims to come forward. Instead, it sends the message that they, rather than their assailants, are subject to being incarcerated if authorities don’t believe their stories. The most victim-sympathetic response would have been for the police to express disappointment in Smollett’s false report, but to let the community know that other allegations would receive the same intense response that Smollett’s had.

Butler’s argument is that they singled out poor gay black famous Jussie to be made an example of. Nowhere does Butler acknowledge why that might be. It’s because Smollett made the rounds of national talk shows to discuss how he had been beaten by two mysterious MAGA supporters, and how he was the face of the victims of white supremacy. He exploited his celebrity and the nation’s racial sensitivity to boost himself and to gin up hatred of Trump supporters. That’s why he had to be made an example of.

Well, it looks like Georgetown law professor and self-appointed tribune of the celebrity oppressed Paul Butler has received his fondest wish:

Convicted felon Jussie Smollett was ordered to be released from jail on Wednesday pending appeal of his 150-day sentence that went into effect last week for staging a hate crime hoax against himself and lying to law enforcement about it.

“The one-page order issued by the Illinois Appellate Court on Wednesday afternoon stated that Smollett was to be released from the Cook County Jail after signing a $150,000 recognizance bond, which would not require him to post any money,” the Chicago Tribune reported. “The only explanation offered in the order was that Smollett has never been convicted of a violent offense and would have completed his sentence of incarceration well before his appeal is decided.”

Smollett was sentenced on Thursday of last week to 150 days in jail, followed by 30 months on probation, and ordered to pay $120,000 in restitution and $25,000 in fines during his sentencing.

The Chicago Tribune writes:

His attorneys, however, had much to say: They were “very elated” that an Illinois appeals court had ordered Smollett released pending his appeal, were eager to try to overturn his conviction, and were adamant that sensational media attention and political machinations thwarted Smollett’s chance at a fair trial.

“We’ve been complaining about the disparate treatment of African Americans in the judicial system,” attorney Nenye Uche said. “Regardless of what you think about this case … the real question is, should Black men be walked into jail for a Class 4 felony? Shame on you if you think they should, that’s a disgrace.”

The “sensational media attention” that Smollett himself generated! And yes, they played the race card. They want Jussie out of jail because he’s black.

Why did the judge in his trial sentence Smollett to 150 days in jail? Saith the Tribune:

Smollett’s attorneys tried in vain to get Linn to stay the sentence pending appeal, but the judge declined, saying that while the wheels of justice turn slowly, “sometimes the hammer of justice has to fall.”

Yes, it does. Go back and watch the archived coverage of Smollett’s hate hoax. The media initially believed his ridiculous story without question, no doubt because if confirmed their prejudices. They boosted this creep Smollett, who lied about all of it. This wasn’t just a local story, but a national one, precisely as Smollett knew it would be, owing to his celebrity. You bet an example had to be made of him. Read the timeline of this case to remind yourself of how far he took this lie.

I suppose he could ultimately be compelled to serve his sentence, but I find it impossible to believe that if he were a normal man, and not a black gay celebrity, that he would receive such kid gloves treatment by the Illinois appeals court. To be a black gay liberal celebrity, though, is to hit the ruling-class trifecta in sacredness, though. If Jussie were trans, the state would have sent a Rolls-Royce limo to pick him up at the jailhouse.

Ask yourself: if Smollett were a straight white celebrity who pulled a hate-crime hoax falsely accusing unnamed black men of attacking him because of his race, and making the rounds of national TV to bemoan hatred in this country, is there any chance an Illinois court would be so soft on him? Hell no — and it shouldn’t be! It doesn’t take much imagination to come up with the column Georgetown Law professor Paul Butler would write about such a figure. But see, our ruling class has certain priorities. I’m old enough to remember the case of Rigoberta Menchu, the Guatemalan indigenous activist and 1992 Nobel Peace laureate, who was exposed as a liar. Though she disputed the allegations, it’s almost certain that Menchu had not suffered the oppression she claimed in the biography that made her famous (she later claimed, “It’s a testimony, not a biography”). I remember at the time her fraud was exposed, some left-wing commentators said that even if Menchu’s story wasn’t factual, many Guatemalan women suffered oppression, so the story should be accepted as a different order of truth.

Similarly with Jussie, it appears, he might not have been telling the truth, but black and gay men, and black gay men, are oppressed somewhere, so we should go easy on him, because of white supremacy.

This is how our ruling class sees it.

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