{"id":5870,"date":"2026-08-01T00:04:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T00:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/08\/01\/illinois-officer-who-killed-sonya-massey-denied-medical-release-from-prison\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T00:04:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T00:04:42","slug":"illinois-officer-who-killed-sonya-massey-denied-medical-release-from-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=5870","title":{"rendered":"Illinois officer who killed Sonya Massey denied medical release from prison"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"bebd4a8d-84c5-4628-a26c-6078f281c01d\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"a woman and a baby \" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/45c2f81c3f39fcf23b9b067823666f310a6236ab\/0_0_2599_1732\/master\/2599.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"309.88072335513664\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Sonya Massey in this undated photo provided by the family\u2019s lawyers.<\/span> Photograph: AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"bebd4a8d-84c5-4628-a26c-6078f281c01d\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Sonya Massey in this undated photo provided by the family\u2019s lawyers.<\/span> Photograph: AP<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">Illinois officer who killed Sonya Massey denied medical release from prison<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Sean Grayson, diagnosed with colon cancer, was sentenced to 20 years for killing Massey in Springfield in 2024<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">A former Illinois sheriff\u2019s deputy won\u2019t get an early medical release from his two-decade prison sentence for killing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/sonya-massey\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Sonya Massey<\/a> inside her home after the Black woman called 911 about a possible prowler, state officials decided on Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The three-member <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/illinois\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Illinois<\/a> prisoner review board voted unanimously on Friday to deny Grayson\u2019s application for early medical release, panel spokesperson Liz Mitchell said in an email.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Grayson, who is white, was convicted in October of second-degree murder for Massey\u2019s killing, a case that sparked protests over systemic racism and a US justice department review.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"336bf5d3-bedc-4276-aeaa-24689f5dd751\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-d9bay7\">\n<div id=\"img-2\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"a police and a woman \" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/eb6969138d79b4af066ec6ef02bad7764a90adb2\/0_0_3776_2118\/master\/3776.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"249.6054025423729\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><a href=\"#img-2\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"336bf5d3-bedc-4276-aeaa-24689f5dd751\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-174mzkf\"><span class=\"dcr-vyhg7z\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Bodycam footage shows Sonya Massey and Sean Grayson outside her home in Springfield.<\/span> Photograph: Illinois state police\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Body-camera footage showed Grayson and another deputy enter Massey\u2019s 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: \u201cI rebuke you in the name of Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Grayson was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jan\/29\/sonya-massey-killing-ex-deputy-sentenced\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">given<\/a> 20 years, the maximum possible sentence, in January.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">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\u2019s death at his January sentencing but in the release application wrote she had \u201cattacked me with a pot of boiling water\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Attorney Daniel Fultz, who has represented Grayson, declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">In a letter to the board opposing Grayson\u2019s release, Sangamon county state\u2019s attorney John Milhiser said the former deputy\u2019s medical condition was already considered at sentencing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cTo release Grayson under these circumstances would be a miscarriage of justice,\u201d he wrote, \u201cand an insult to Sonya Massey\u2019s memory and family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Representing Massey\u2019s family, attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci said on Friday that the board \u201cmade the right decision\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cThe board recognized what this family has said from the start,\u201d they said in a statement. \u201cNo one is above accountability, and a badge does not provide an early way out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Democratic governor JB Pritzker said in a statement that Illinois law requires the prisoner review board to consider medical release requests. He called Massey\u2019s killing \u201ca profound loss\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cSonya was innocent, unarmed, and calling law enforcement for help,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a painful reminder that too many innocent Black Americans have faced this kind of violence \u2013 and they deserve justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/sonya-massey\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Sonya Massey<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-crime\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US crime<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-police\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US policing<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/illinois\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Illinois<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Illinois%20officer%20who%20killed%20Sonya%20Massey%20denied%20medical%20release%20from%20prison&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jul\/31\/sonya-massey-shooting-prison?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fjul%2F31%2Fsonya-massey-shooting-prison&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/jul\/31\/sonya-massey-shooting-prison\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sonya Massey in this undated photo provided by the family\u2019s lawyers. Photograph: AP View image in fullscreen Sonya<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}