Taraji Henson calls to 'Free Jussie' Smollett, invokes Emmett Till
Henson invoked Emmett Till when calling to free Smollett
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Taraji Henson is calling to have Jussie Smollett freed from his 150-day jail sentence.
The actress, 51, shared with her Instagram followers on Sunday a lengthy captioned with an image that read, "#FREEJUSSIE".
"I am not here to debate you on his innocence but we can agree that the punishment does not fit the crime," she began.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Taraji P. Henson is calling to have Jussie Smollett freed from his 150-day jail sentence. (Getty)
"Emmett Till was brutally beat and ultimately murdered because of a lie and none of the people involved with his demise spent one day in jail, even after Carolyn Bryant admitted that her claims were false. No one was hurt or killed during Jussie’s ordeal. He has already lost everything, EVERYTHING".
JUSSIE SMOLLETT PLACED IN A PSYCH WARD IN COOK COUNTY JAIL, BROTHER SAYS
Henson concluded with: "To me as an artist not able to create that in itself is punishment enough. He can’t get a job. No one in Hollywood will hire him and again as an artist who loves to create, that is prison. My prayer is that he is freed and put on house arrest and probation because in this case that would seem fair. Please #freejussie".
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Once Henson shared her post, she disabled her comment section.
Henson is receiving backlash for comparing Smollett's case to the historic case of Emmett Till. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Once Henson invoked Emmett Till, she caused outrage online.
In 1955, Till, 14, was brutally murdered for allegedly flirting with a White woman, Carolyn Bryant Donham. Donham has never had charges pressed against her for fabricating her testimony.
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Smollett began a 150-day jail sentence for staging a hate crime against himself in protective custody, separated from other detainees and watched by security cameras and an officer, jail authorities said Friday.
Smollett began his 150-day jail sentence in protective custody and later moved to the psych ward. (Cook County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Sheriff's deputies immediately took Smollett to the Cook County Jail Thursday night after Judge James Linn sentenced the Black and gay actor to 30 months of felony probation, starting with a five-month term in jail, for lying to police that he had been the target of a racist and homophobic attack.
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Fox News Digital reported on Sunday that Smollett has been placed in a psychiatric ward at the Cook County jail following a "risk of self-harm".
The Associated Press contributed to this report.