Former Deputy Sentenced to 20 Years in Sonya Massey Shooting

A former Illinois sheriff's deputy was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday for the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, a Black woman who had called 911 for help at her home in Springfield, Illinois. Sean Grayson, 31 and white, received the maximum penalty for his second-degree murder conviction in the July 6, 2024, incident, which unfolded inside Massey's residence after she reported a possible prowler.

According to body camera footage from the responding deputies, Grayson and his partner, Deputy Dawson Farley, arrived at Massey's home in the early morning hours. The pair searched the yard and found no intruder before knocking on the door. Massey, 36 and a single mother struggling with mental health issues, appeared confused during the encounter and repeatedly invoked "Please, God." The deputies entered the house, where the situation escalated over a pot of hot water on the stove.

Grayson instructed Massey to move the pot, but she retrieved it herself, prompting him to step back. Massey then said, "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus," leading Grayson to draw his sidearm and order her to drop it. She set the pot down and ducked behind a counter, but as she appeared to reach...