CHICAGO — The former Illinois sheriff’s deputy convicted of murdering Sonya Massey inside her home was denied medical release from prison Friday after an emotional hearing before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.
The board voted 3-0 to deny Sean Grayson’s application, meaning he will remain in custody. Grayson’s lawyers have said he was diagnosed with colon cancer a few years ago, which has since spread to his liver.
“Today the board recognized what this family has said from the start. No one is above accountability, and a badge does not provide an early way out,” attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, who represent Massey’s family, said in a statement.
The hearing came about six months after a judge sentenced Grayson to 20 years in prison for second-degree murder, the maximum penalty allowed under Illinois law.
The high-profile case, which sparked national outrage, hinged largely on graphic body-camera footage. It showed the white deputy fatally shooting the 36-year-old Black mother of two after she called 911 in July 2024 to report a possible prowler near her home, located just outside Springfield, Illinois.
After Massey’s death, Grayson got fired, the Sangamon County sheriff at the time of the shooting resigned, and attorneys Crump and Romanucci helped Massey’s family secure a $10 million settlement from Sangamon County.
In a Friday statement, Gov. JB Pritzker said Massey’s family and loved ones remain in his thoughts, calling her killing a “a profound loss that can never be reversed.” The governor signed the “Sonya Massey Bill” last year aimed at revising police hiring practices.
“Sonya was innocent, unarmed, and calling law enforcement for help,” he said. “It was a painful reminder that too many innocent Black Americans have faced this kind of violence — and they deserve justice.”
Grayson applied for release in May under a state law for individuals in custody “suffering from a terminal illness or medical incapacitation.” A medical evaluation found that his condition is “irreversible and incurable,” according to documents first obtained by Capitol News Illinois.
Neither Grayson nor his attorneys spoke at Friday’s hearing, and his attorney Daniel Fultz said afterward that he had no comment. A spokesperson for the board said Grayson opted back when he submitted his application for a type of hearing where he didn’t have the ability to testify.
A few members of Massey’s family shared their testimony, however. Her father, James Wilburn, said Grayson doesn’t deserve to be released because he didn’t show his daughter compassion.
“People have said to me, you know, he’s dying. Maybe as an act of compassion, he should be able to die amongst his family and friends,” Wilburn said. “My baby didn’t have a chance to die amongst her family and friends.”
Her mother, Donna Massey, called Grayson in between tears a “menace to society who should not be walking around.”
The Sangamon County state’s attorney also opposed Grayson’s request for release, writing that he still poses a “substantial danger” to the community and that his diagnosis was known when he was sentenced. The office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
“He was already diagnosed with cancer when he shot and killed Sonya Massey in her kitchen,” State’s Attorney John Milhiser wrote. “His temper and willingness to escalate minor misunderstandings into fatal encounters shows that he poses a danger to any person he comes into contact with.”
In fact, Judge Ryan Cadagin said when handing down Grayson’s 20-year sentence that there’s no evidence his treatment behind bars would be different than in a community-based setting.
After hearing the testimony, the three members of the board deliberated on the case behind closed doors. They didn’t explain the reasoning behind their votes.
The dozens of Massey’s family and supporters who attended the hearing clapped and shouted “thank you” after the vote.