As Jussie Smollett faces sentencing, his supporters from Samuel L. Jackson to Rev. Jesse Jackson ask for mercy

The New York Times

A judge will hold a sentencing hearing Thursday to decide whether the former Empire star should be sent to prison after he was convicted of felony disorderly conduct last fall of falsely reporting that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack. Ahead of the hearing, celebrities and racial justice advocates have written to the judge asking for mercy. They include Samuel L. Jackson and his wife, the actress LaTanya Richardson Jackson; the Rev. Jesse Jackson; and Derrick Johnson, the president of the N.A.A.C.P. “Jussie has already suffered,” Rev. Jackson wrote the judge. “He has been excoriated and vilified in the court of public opinion. His professional reputation has been severely damaged.”