A former Illinois deputy has been sentenced to 20 years for fatally shooting Sonya Massey, a Black woman who called 911 for help.
Sean Grayson, 31, was convicted in October of second-degree murder. Grayson, who is white, received the maximum possible sentence and has been in police custody since being charged in the killing.
Massey’s family members, who were sitting in the court, celebrated his sentence with a loud cheer: “Yes!” The judge admonished them.
Grayson apologized during the sentencing, saying he wished he could bring Massey back and spare her family the pain he caused.
“I made a lot of mistakes that night. There were points when I should’ve acted, and I didn’t. I froze,” he said. “I made terrible decisions that night. I’m sorry.”
It didn’t seem like at any point the woman was in a state of mind to calmly invite them in. It’s like they always make the choice that maximizes their chance of shooting someone.
I saw footage of a different encounter where a bunch of police were hanging out right at her backdoor even though she was clearly distressed and didn’t even think about giving her space. Pretty sure they also shot her through a screen door while she was still in her house.