The Illinois prisoner review board voted unanimously on Friday to deny Sean Grayson's application for early medical release, panel spokesperson Liz Mitchell said in an email.
Grayson, a former sheriff's deputy who is white, was convicted in October of second-degree murder for killing Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black single mother, in Springfield in 2024. Massey had called 911 about a possible prowler. Grayson was sentenced in January to 20 years, the maximum possible term. The case drew protests over systemic racism and prompted a US justice department review.
Killing inside her home
Body-camera footage showed Grayson and another deputy enter Massey's home. Minutes later, Grayson shot her in the face as she moved a pot of hot water from the stove and told him: "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus."
Grayson had been diagnosed with colon cancer prior to the 2024 shooting, and his attorney noted in January that the cancer had spread to his liver and lungs.
Release application and opposition
Grayson filed for early release from prison in May, six months into his sentence, according to a copy of his application published by Capitol News Illinois. He apologized for Massey's death at his January sentencing, but in the release application he wrote that she had "attacked me with a pot of boiling water". His attorney, Daniel Fultz, declined to comment.
Sangamon county state's attorney John Milhiser wrote to the board opposing release, saying Grayson's medical condition was already considered at sentencing. "To release Grayson under these circumstances would be a miscarriage of justice," Milhiser wrote, "and an insult to Sonya Massey's memory and family."
Family and governor respond
Attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, representing Massey's family, said the board "made the right decision". "The board recognized what this family has said from the start," they said in a statement. "No one is above accountability, and a badge does not provide an early way out."
Governor JB Pritzker said in a statement that Illinois law requires the prisoner review board to consider medical release requests. He called Massey's killing "a profound loss". "Sonya was innocent, unarmed, and calling law enforcement for help," Pritzker said. "It was a painful reminder that too many innocent Black Americans have faced this kind of violence – and they deserve justice."
