The Illinois State Supreme Court has thrown out Jussie Smollett's conviction for allegedly faking a hate crime. In its Thursday (Nov. 21) decision, the court explained that the ruling addresses "question about the State's responsibility to honor the agreements it makes with defendants," according to the Associated Press.

Smollett was convicted in 2021 for faking a racist, homophobic attack. Still, his lawyers argued it violated his Fifth Amendment rights since charges were dropped in 2019 after he paid $10,000 and did community service. A special prosecutor later revived the case.

The court noted that it is "fundamentally unfair to allow the prosecution to renege on a deal with a defendant when the defendant has relied on the agreement to his detriment."

"We are aware that this case has generated significant public interest and that many people were dissatisfied with the resolution of the original case and believed it to be 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," it said.

Smollett's attorney, Nenye Uche, said they are thankful for the court "restoring order to Illinois' criminal law jurisprudence."