Editor's Note: Jojo Smollett is the eldest of the Smollett siblings. He runs a nonprofit that helps developmentally disabled people successfully join America’s work force. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of BET.

It has not yet been 90 days

since my younger brother, Jussie Smollett, was assaulted on a cold winter night in Chicago. Within less than three months, his life has been turned upside down as my family and I have witnessed him endure unrelenting attacks to his character and reputation. Like so many others, this entire process quickly devolved from a focus on him as a victim of assault, to him being falsely accused and held responsible for a crime that was perpetrated against him. To define this experience as unjust would be an understatement.

After several leaks from “unnamed” police sources and despite a long history of wrongful accusations from the Chicago Police Department, many in the media accepted these unconfirmed reports as fact. The numerous police leaks, which prompted an internal Chicago Police investigation, convicted Jussie in the court of public opinion before he even entered a courtroom.

On February 14, the day that the Osundario brothers were brought in for questioning as suspects, Fox News reported that the Chicago Police Communications Director, in response to leaked sources within the department, had begun spreading the word that Jussie had supposedly staged the attack, stated that the police chief “has contacted @ABC7Chicago to state on the record that we have no evidence to support their reporting and their supposed CPD sources are uninformed and inaccurate.”

If the CPD had no evidence to support the idea of a hoax, prior to interviewing the Osundarios, then they base their whole case against Jussie on that interview. The police chief later admitted that the men made no mention of a hoax until the final hour that they could legally be held.

By this time, Jussie had already refused to sign a complaint against the Osundarios, convinced that these men, one who he had considered a friend and the other an acquaintance, could not be his attackers. Most importantly, detectives refused to show Jussie video, photos, or any evidence to prove they were the attackers. The fact that these two brothers, who in the final hour confessed to attacking my brother yet say it was Jussie who told them to, is all the evidence that the police and the general public needed to be convinced, should be frightening to everyone.

Is that all it takes to destroy a lifelong dedication to one’s craft and community? Is it really that easy to convince the world of a person’s guilt? Is that all it takes to turn someone’s life upside down in America? Simply ask yourself this, “What if Jussie is telling the truth?”

With not one inkling of solid evidence, many believed the false witness testimony from two suspects who turned into witnesses, even though they lacked standard credibility. It was under-reported that one of the “witnesses” had previously been arrested for attempted murder ending with a plea deal for aggravated battery, or that the brothers repeatedly expressed homophobia on their social media in the past. Additionally, it was never reported that they changed their story while under police interrogation.