After five years, could the Jussie Smollett case finally be over? The actor’s conviction was overturned Thursday by the Illinois Supreme Court Associated press. Smollett was accused of carrying out a racist and homophobic attack on himself and lying to police in 2019. Smollett has always maintained his innocence in the case, but was found guilty of five charges of disorderly conduct in 2021.

Thursday’s decision had nothing to do with Smollett’s guilt or innocence in the actual attack. Instead, the conviction was overturned because the Illinois Supreme Court ruled 5-0 “that a special prosecutor should not have intervened after the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office initially dropped charges against Smollett in exchange for forfeiting his bond of $10,000 and to perform community service. “according to the AP.

“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 felt it was unfair,” Judge Elizabeth Rochford wrote in the ruling. “Nevertheless, what would be more unjust than the resolution of any criminal case would be for this court to find that the state is not obliged to honor agreements on which people have harmfully relied.”

Certain parties criticized the prosecutor’s initial deal to drop Smollett’s charges; Then-Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emmanuel called it a “whitewash of justice” and suggested Smollett received special treatment as a celebrity (per NBC News). On Thursday, Dan K. Webb, the special counsel who took the case after it was dismissed by the state’s attorney’s office, noted that there was no precedent saying he could not pursue a “second, new prosecution after a dismissal without prejudice.”

“We are disappointed with the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision today to reverse the convictions and sentence of Jussie Smollett, including the award of more than $120,000 in restitution to the city of Chicago for the overtime it incurred in investigating the Mr. Smollett’s fake hate crime. We respectfully disagree with the Court’s factual and legal reasoning, which upends long-standing Illinois precedent,” Webb said in a statement. “Make no mistake, today’s verdict has nothing to do with Mr. Smollett’s innocence. The Illinois Supreme Court found no error in the overwhelming evidence presented at trial that Mr. Smollett orchestrated a false hate crime and reported it to the Chicago Police Department as a real hate crime, or in the jury’s unanimous finding that Mr. Smollett was guilty. of five counts of disorderly conduct. In fact, Mr. Smollett did not even challenge the sufficiency of the evidence against him in his appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court.”

Smollett was originally sentenced to 150 days in jail, 30 months of probation, and a fine of approximately $130,000. He only spent about a week in jail before being released pending an appeal.