Illinois Board Denies Sean Grayson’s 20-Year Sentence Release Bid After 3-0 Vote
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 31
Illinois Board Denies Sean Grayson’s 20-Year Sentence Release Bid After 3-0 Vote
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 31
Summary
A three-member Illinois prisoner review board unanimously rejected Sean Grayson’s request for early medical release, keeping the former deputy in prison for Sonya Massey’s killing.
Grayson sought release in May after serving six months of his 20-year sentence, citing colon cancer that his lawyer said had spread to his liver and lungs.
John Milhiser, the Sangamon County state’s attorney, told the board Grayson’s medical condition had already been weighed at sentencing and that releasing him would be a miscarriage of justice.
Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, representing Massey’s family, said the board made the right decision, while Governor JB Pritzker called Massey’s death a profound loss and said Black Americans deserve justice.
Grayson, who is white, was convicted in October of second-degree murder for fatally shooting the 36-year-old Black woman in her Springfield home after she called 911, a case that triggered protests and a Justice Department review.