Samuel L. Jackson, Wife LaTanya Write Letter on Jussie Smollett's Behalf Asking for Leniency When Sentencing

etonline.com:

Samuel L. Jackson and his wife, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, sent a letter to the judge ahead of Jussie Smollett's sentencing in his disorderly conduct case and implored the judge to have mercy on the actor and find an alternative to incarceration.In the letter, dated Feb.

24 and obtained by ET, the Jacksons write to judge James B. Linn and inform him that they've known the 39-year-old actor since he was a baby living down the street from them in New York City.

They say they're also aware of the difficult decisions judges have to make in these circumstances.«It is with the respect of knowing this, that I humbly implore you to please find an alternative to incarceration for Jussie Smollett,» the couple writes in the letter. «It is my understanding that Jussie was convicted of Class 4, disorderly conduct, which to my understanding, people convicted of this offense historically are sentenced to various alternatives to incarceration.»The Jacksons also reminded the judge that Smollett has no prior criminal record and has never been violent.«We have often broken bread with this young man as we discussed the right and wrong ways to live,» the letter continues. «Jussie comes from a good family whom we are proud to know intimately and who we know stand ready to provide the support and monitoring assistance that they can provide for him in an alternative probation scenario.»In the letter, the couple lays out Smollett's service to his community and beyond — from woking to stop the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S.