Illinois Prisoner Review Board denies Grayson early release

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.

Grayson 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.

Statements on the decision

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.  

Peter Hancock, Capitol News Illinois

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Peter Hancock is the Statehouse reporter for Capitol News Illinois and held that position since January 2019. Hancock previously covered the state government in Kansas for much of two decades, including stints with the Lawrence Journal-World and Kansas Public Radio. He would also report for the Kansas Health Policy Authority and the Kansas Education Policy Report.

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