Former Sangamon County deputy was convicted of second-degree murder
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by the Illinois Times and republished with permission.
By DEAN OLSEN
Illinois Times
A Sangamon County judge on Thursday gave former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson the maximum sentence — 20 years in prison — for the July 2024 murder of Sonya Massey, culminating a nationally publicized case that led to ongoing discussions and action locally to bridge racial divides.
A cheer went up in the courtroom and Donna Massey, Sonya’s mother, said, “Thank you God, thank you God,” as the hearing concluded.
But after the decision by Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin, Sean Grayson could end up serving less than half of that time in prison. That’s because a Peoria County jury on Oct. 29 found the 31-year-old Riverton resident, originally charged with first-degree murder after the shooting death of Massey, 36, in her Woodside Township home, guilty of the lesser offense of second-degree murder.
Grayson, who is white, killed Massey, a Black, unarmed single mother of two teenagers, in a rapidly progressing confrontation over Grayson’s fear that Massey would harm him with a pot of hot water from the stove of her kitchen.
Grayson’s profanity-laced comments toward Massey, her soft-spoken yet firm comment, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” and Grayson’s fatal shot to Massey’s head were all captured on police-worn body camera video footage of the exchange. The footage went viral on the internet and was played to the jury at trial.
Grayson would have been ensured a prison sentence of 45 years to life if convicted of first-degree murder because of enhancements related to the use of a gun and state law requiring that defendants serve 100% of a sentence for certain crimes.
The jury decided that Grayson’s actions met the legal standard for first-degree murder but that his belief he was acting in self-defense — even though that belief was unreasonable — was a mitigating factor justifying a finding of second-degree murder.
With time already served behind bars and because the second-degree charge allows the sentence to be reduced by half for good behavior, Grayson could be released in about 8½ years.
The jury decided that Grayson, who was dispatched to Massey’s home after she called 911 when she suspected a prowler in the neighborhood, shot Massey, who had been dealing with chronic mental illnesses, under the misguided belief that he needed to act in self-defense.
Cadagin denied Grayson’s request for a new trial after Grayson’s lawyers, Dan Fultz and Mark Wykoff, argued, among other things, that the judge erred in allowing the jury of nine women and three men to hear Grayson’s disparaging remarks about Massey after the shooting.
Massey’s death, and the ensuing protests in Springfield and in other cities, led to the formation locally of the Massey Commission.
The citizen group recently finalized a range of recommendations for improving relations with the public and the police, boosting services for people with mental illnesses, and reducing economic disparities between Blacks and whites.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
