Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx penned an op-ed for the Chicago Tribune Saturday in an attempt to defend her office’s decision to strike a deal with “Empire” star Jussie Smollett, allowing him to escape trial on 17 criminal charges in return for forfeiting his $10,000 bond and performing just 16 hours of community service.
In the article, Foxx claims that her office believed it would be difficult to obtain a conviction against Smollett, and that, because Smollett was not alleged to have committed a violent crime, her office did not want to waste resources pursuing his case.
“In determining whether or not to pursue charges, prosecutors are required to balance the severity of the crime against the likelihood of securing a conviction,” Foxx said in her op-ed. “For a variety of reasons … my office believed the likelihood of securing a conviction was not certain.”
She added that she “welcomes” an outside investigation into her office’s actions if that will help restore public faith in her department.
“I am not perfect, nor is any other prosecutor out there, but ensuring that I and my office have our community’s trust is paramount,” Foxx said, adding that she was prepared to become the subject of an “outside, nonpolitical review of how we handled this matter.” – READ MORE