Ex-deputy who shot Sonya Massey is denied a request for medical release from prison

Ex-deputy who shot Sonya Massey is denied a request for medical release from prison 1 of 4 | This booking photo provided by the Macon County, Ill., Jail in January 2025, shows Sean Grayson, a former Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy. (Macon County Jail via AP, File) 2 of 4 | In this image from body camera video released by Illinois State Police, Sonya Massey, left, talks with Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson outside her home in Springfield, Ill., July 6, 2024. (Illinois State Police via AP, File) 3 of 4 | In this image from body camera video released by Illinois State Police, Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson, left, points his gun at Sonya Massey, who called 911 for help, before shooting and killing her inside her home in Springfield, Ill., July 6, 2024. (Illinois State Police via AP, File) 4 of 4 | Donna Massey, center right, wipes tears from her face as she listens to Rev. Al Sharpton, right, speak during a news conference Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Chicago, over the shooting death of her daughter Sonya, who was allegedly killed by Illinois sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, File 1 of 4 | This booking photo provided by the Macon County, Ill., Jail in January 2025, shows Sean Grayson, a former Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy. (Macon County Jail via AP, File) 1 of 4 This booking photo provided by the Macon County, Ill., Jail in January 2025, shows Sean Grayson, a former Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy. (Macon County Jail via AP, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 4 | In this image from body camera video released by Illinois State Police, Sonya Massey, left, talks with Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson outside her home in Springfield, Ill., July 6, 2024. (Illinois State Police via AP, File) 2 of 4 In this image from body camera video released by Illinois State Police, Sonya Massey, left, talks with Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson outside her home in Springfield, Ill., July 6, 2024. (Illinois State Police via AP, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 4 | In this image from body camera video released by Illinois State Police, Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson, left, points his gun at Sonya Massey, who called 911 for help, before shooting and killing her inside her home in Springfield, Ill., July 6, 2024. (Illinois State Police via AP, File) 3 of 4 In this image from body camera video released by Illinois State Police, Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson, left, points his gun at Sonya Massey, who called 911 for help, before shooting and killing her inside her home in Springfield, Ill., July 6, 2024. (Illinois State Police via AP, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 4 of 4 | Donna Massey, center right, wipes tears from her face as she listens to Rev. Al Sharpton, right, speak during a news conference Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Chicago, over the shooting death of her daughter Sonya, who was allegedly killed by Illinois sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, File 4 of 4 Donna Massey, center right, wipes tears from her face as she listens to Rev. Al Sharpton, right, speak during a news conference Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Chicago, over the shooting death of her daughter Sonya, who was allegedly killed by Illinois sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, File Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] CHICAGO (AP) — A former Illinois sheriff’s deputy won’t get an early medical release from his two-decade prison sentence for killing Sonya Massey inside her home after the Black woman called 911 about a possible prowler, state officials decided Friday. Sean Grayson had been diagnosed with colon cancer prior to the 2024 shooting, and his attorney noted in January that the cancer had advanced to his liver and lungs.The three-member Illinois Prisoner Review Board voted unanimously Friday to deny Grayson’s application for early medical release, Liz Mitchell, a board spokesperson, said in an email.Grayson, who is white, was convicted in October of second-degree murder for Massey’s killing, a case that sparked protests over systemic racism and a U.S. Department of Justice review. Body camera footage showed Grayson and another deputy enter Massey’s home in Springfield, Illinois. Minutes later, Grayson shot the 36-year-old single mother 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 was given the maximum possible sentence. He 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. Grayson apologized for Massey’s death at his January sentencing but in the release application wrote she had “attacked me with a pot of boiling water.”Daniel Fultz, an attorney who has represented Grayson, declined to comment Friday. In a letter to the board opposing Grayson’s release, Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser said the former deputy’s medical condition was already considered at sentencing. “To release Grayson under these circumstances would be a miscarriage of justice,” he wrote, “and an insult to Sonya Massey’s memory and family.”Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, attorneys representing Massey’s family, said Friday that the board “made the right decision.”“Today 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.” Democratic Gov. 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,” he said. “It was a painful reminder that too many innocent Black Americans have faced this kind of violence — and they deserve justice.”Mayes-Osterman is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.