The only Black member of the jury that convicted Jussie Smollett of lying to Chicago police about an attack said that he could not believe the actor's actions after he claimed a noose was put around his neck.
Juror Andre Hope shared with WLS-TV that what seemed fabricated to him about Smollett's story was that he did not take off the noose that he claims two men put on his neck. He had it on when police arrived.
"As an African American person, I'm not putting that noose back on at all," Hope told WLS-TV.
Smollett had testified in the trial, saying that after being attacked in downtown Chicago in January 2019, he went back to his apartment and put the rope around his neck after taking it off so police who were meeting him there could see it.
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Eddie Johnson, who was the Chicago police superintendent in January 2019 when the attack happened, shared the exact sentiment that Hope did.
"I was concerned because I don't think there's many Black people in America with a noose around their neck and wouldn't immediately take it off," Johnson said, FoxNews reported.
Hope, a 63-year-old father, shared that the evidence the prosecution brought against Smollett was also overwhelming, with the two brothers testifying that the actor paid them to stage the attack.
When it came to the defense, Hope said the counter-narrative Smollett's attorneys tried to convey did not make any sense.
"When you just use your common sense as what's there, yeah it just, it didn't add up," Hope, who lives in suburban Bellwood, west of Chicago, said.
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After the prosecutors argued the attack was a hoax because Smollett was upset the studio he worked for didn't respond seriously enough to hate mail, plus listening to testimony from witnesses, and viewing evidence, Hope was left with one question.
"I still have not figured out a motive for why he did, why this had to even happen," Hope said. "He was a star."
Smollett will now face a max sentence of three years in prison when he is sentenced sometime next year. However, he most likely will be placed on probation and ordered to perform community service.
