Posted on 10/30/2025 7:16:00 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
An Illinois jury on Wednesday convicted a former sheriff’s deputy of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Sonya Massey, a Black woman who called 911 asking for help.
Sean Grayson, 31, could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison, or probation. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 29.
Grayson and another deputy arrived at Massey’s home in Springfield, Illinois, early on the morning of July 6, 2024, after she reported a prowler. Grayson shot the 36-year-old woman after confronting her about how she was handling a pot of hot water she had removed from her stove. Grayson and his attorneys argued that he feared Massey would scald him with the hot water.
Massey’s killing raised new questions about U.S. law enforcement shootings of Black people in their homes, and prompted a change in Illinois law requiring fuller transparency on the background of candidates for law enforcement jobs.
Grayson originally was charged with first-degree murder, which carries a prison sentence of 45 years to life, which must be served in full. But after the seven-day trial, the jury was given the option of considering second-degree murder, which applies when a defendant faces a “serious provocation” or believes their action is justified even if that belief is unreasonable.
Second-degree murder could bring Grayson a sentence of four to 20 years with day-for-day good time, meaning his sentence could be halved if he behaves behind bars. He could also be sentenced to probation and avoid prison time entirely.
Body camera video recorded by the other Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy on the scene that morning, Dawson Farley, was a key part of the prosecution’s case. It showed Massey, who struggled with mental health issues, telling the officers, “Don’t hurt me,” and repeating, “Please God.”
(Excerpt) Read more at channel3000.com ...
I watched the video of this incident many times. The jury made the right call.
But what’s with this “could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison, or probation”? That range is simply ridiculous.
“I watched the video of this incident many times. The jury made the right call.”
I agree...
There are a lot of people struggling with mental health issues.
Why did the officers enter her home?
Did the officers demand entry?
“Massey’s killing raised new questions about U.S. law enforcement shootings of Black people in their homes”
Yes, innocent White people are never shot by the police in their homes. Ignore the many videos showing otherwise.
This was the right decision. Now it’s time for the judge to make the right call on sentencing. 20 Years, which will turn into 10 years with good behavior seems reasonable to me.
Being white, no way he gets probation
Bringing race into this shooting just muddies the waters. The discussion should be about police misconduct.
Instead it becomes just another white/black thing. Quite unnecessary (and distracting) in this particular case.
Obviously, the 31 year old officer here - who told the women to remove the pot from the stove, which order she promptly obeyed - was not acting rationally in this case (a pot of water in the hand of a slim elderly female is going to kill an armed officer, with his accompanying officer backing him), and was being ignorant of the meaning of such a remark. And it may be something was said that she was reacting to. Lethal force should not be used simply because their protocol in place at that time allowed it. Even is the lady somehow threw water, it easily could be avoided.
” Why did the officers enter her home?
Did the officers demand entry?”
They always demand entry so they can visually search and fish... I have never had one who did not ask “can we come in?”. And if you say no you are automatically deemed guilty of hiding something and they go on alert.
Absolutely... I don’t know if you saw the video, but she was just multitasking and trying to continue to work on her cooking chores while talking to them. Apparently she was supposed to drop everything and give them absolute undivided attention or she was a lethal threat.
EVERYONE is always considered Guilty, Armed, And Dangerous. Even innocent Complainants and Victims.
“Bringing race into this shooting just muddies the waters. The discussion should be about police misconduct.”
I absolutely agree, race should have absolutely nothing to do with it. This is all about LE training and rules of engagement or lack there of...
According to Dr. Clarissa Cole, fully half of the candidates who FAILED her required pre-employment psych eval were hired anyway!
I hope the jurors were presented evidence of why the officers entered the home.
If the officers were fishing for a crime, then the one that killed the lady deserves maximum sentencing.
Being a victim and being the one to call 911 she probably invited them in with trust because they were there “to help her”. Or so she thought...
Ordered her to retrieve the pot and felt threatened when she touched it.
That’s like “hands up, turn around, don’t move.” Simultaneously.
Contradictory orders by adrenaline- and power-hyped police have led to too many people being killed.
Failure analysis should change training. It is failure when you kill someone who asked for help. Failure when you could have de-escalated. Failure when you contradict yourself or another officer. Failure when a few steps back would give everyone breathing room.
While being arrested or shot is done under the premise that one is guilty, though not sentenced apart from presently being in custody, only in worse-case scenarios do such shootings as this occur. And which means that qualifications for a PO need to include more training and testing than what answers on a test and physical training can reveal, and which experience in life enables. And being able to deal with physical threats, from dogs to agitated persons, via non-lethal means vs, lethal, seems to have been missing in this case.
I do not have a basic animus toward those in authority, including LEOs, and have had good as well as negative experiences with them, as they can much vary.
I saw the video. The cop claimed he was worried she was going to throw hot food on him, which if so, he could have gotten himself out of her kitchen and gone looking for the intruder like he was called there to do.
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