Illinois Prisoner Review Board denies early release for Sean Grayson
[August 01, 2026]
By Peter Hancock
SPRINGFIELD – Former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson will
remain in prison, at least for the time being.
The Illinois Prisoner Review Board voted unanimously Friday to deny
Grayson’s application for compassionate release.
Grayson is serving a 20-year sentence for second-degree murder for the
2024 killing of Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman who had called
authorities to report a possible prowler outside her home.
He had applied for release under Illinois’ Joe Coleman Act, citing his
diagnosis of advanced cancer.
But the PRB denied that request following a hearing at which members of
Massey’s family testified. They argued that Grayson’s condition was
taken into account when he was sentenced in October and that he
continues to show no remorse for his actions.
“I believe he received a compassionate sentence from the jury because of
his condition,” Sontae Massey, Sonya’s cousin, told the review board.
“But what about Sonya? She was condemned to the grave by this man and
has no review board to grant her her God-given earthly life back.”
James Wilburn, Massey’s father, also said he did not believe Grayson
deserved early release.
“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.”
Massey’s murder
Massey was shot and killed in her home on July 6, 2024, after calling
911 to report a possible prowler on her property.
According to police reports and body cam video presented in court,
Grayson and another deputy responded to the scene but found no evidence
of a prowler. While talking with Massey inside her home, Grayson asked
her to remove a pot of boiling water from her stove. She did, but while
moving the pot, she said to one of the officers, “I rebuke you in the
name of Jesus.” Grayson then shot her three times, claiming later that
Massey was about to attack him with the boiling water.
In his application for release, Grayson repeated that claim and
expressed no remorse for his actions.
John Milhiser, the Sangamon County state’s attorney whose office
prosecuted Grayson, argued against his release in a letter. He argued
that Grayson had cancer when he shot Massey and the judge knew about his
worsening condition when he sentenced him.
“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,” Milhiser wrote in the letter. “To release Grayson
under these circumstances would be a miscarriage of justice and an
insult to Sonya Massey’s memory and family.”
Massey’s killing drew statewide and national attention because it
touched on many critical issues confronting law enforcement, including
race relations, how officers respond to people experiencing mental
illness, and how officers are screened and trained for their jobs.
It also led to the resignation of former Sangamon County Sheriff Jack
Campbell, who came under heavy criticism for hiring Grayson despite his
troubled employment history with other law enforcement agencies.
[to top of second column]
|
Donna Massey, Sonya Massey’s mother, spoke at a news conference.
(Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock)
Grayson’s history, response
Capitol News Illinois reported that before Grayson was hired in Sangamon
County, he had worked at the Logan County Sheriff’s Department where he
was repeatedly admonished for poor performance and inappropriate
behavior.
The tragedy also occurred four years after the killing of George Floyd
at the hands of Minneapolis police, which set off riots and protests
across the country. And both of those killings were just part of a long
string of killings of unarmed Black people at the hands of white police
officers.
“I’ve noticed that it’s getting rampant with Black people being pulled
over for being Black, even while they’re walking or standing in their
yard,” Donna Massey, Sonya’s mother, said at a news conference following
Friday’s hearing. “It’s getting rampant. It’s not getting any better. So
we do need to make Sean Grayson an example, because everybody keeps
getting away with murder, and that’s why they keep doing it.”
Massey’s killing prompted Illinois lawmakers to pass legislation in 2025
requiring law enforcement agencies to conduct more extensive background
checks on prospective officers. That includes requesting copies of
personnel files from the applicant’s previous employers. The law also
requires law enforcement agencies to provide those records upon request
from another agency.
In February 2025, the Sangamon County Board approved paying $10 million
to settle a wrongful death claim brought by Massey’s family.
Massey’s family expressed relief Friday after the PRB voted to deny
Grayson’s petition for release.
Gov. JB Pritzker also released a statement praising the board’s
decision.
“Sonya Massey’s family and loved ones remain in my thoughts today,” he
said in the statement. “Her killing was a profound loss that can never
be reversed. Sonya was innocent, unarmed, and calling law enforcement
for help. It was a painful reminder that too many innocent Black
Americans have faced this kind of violence — and they deserve justice.”
Sontae Massey said during the news conference after the hearing that his
cousin’s death helped bring people in the Springfield community together
to work for racial justice. But he said the Massey family, and the
community at large, still have not healed.
“I think we’re on the right track, but there’s more to be done,” he
said. “And we will continue to work as long as there’s the specter of
Sean Grayson, or anyone else that perpetrates these crimes, has the
ability to get out on early release or just harm our community. So we
will be out there working diligently.”
Under the law, Grayson can reapply for release at any time, as many
times as he wants.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick
Foundation. |
