Unless the Illinois Supreme Court steps in, Sean Grayson will be released from custody on Dec. 6 while he awaits trial for the July 6 murder of Sonya Massey.
Grayson, 30, had been ordered detained by Circuit Court Judge Ryan Cadagin since the former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy was arrested and indicted by a grand jury in mid-July in the nationally publicized case.
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But a unanimous, three-judge panel from the Illinois Appellate Court’s 4th District on Nov. 27 said Cadagin erred in denying pretrial release for Grayson, a Riverton resident who was captured on police body-worn video shooting Massey, 36, a Black woman, in the head in her Woodside Township home.
Massey, who was dealing with mental illness, had called police when she suspected a prowler in the neighborhood.
The panel’s ruling said county prosecutors failed to introduce “clear and convincing evidence” that Grayson would pose a danger to the community, even if he were released with certain conditions.
The panel agreed with Grayson’s attorneys, Mark Wykoff and Daniel Fultz, who argued Cadagin made a mistake when he determined that “conditions of release, including not working as a law enforcement officer, home confinement, electronic location monitoring and the removal of firearms from his home would be inadequate to mitigate the threat posed to the safety of the community.”
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Massey’s father, James Wilburn of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, called the ruling “a serious miscarriage of justice,” and Ken Pacha, an outspoken supporter of the family and a critic of police, said he fears there will be violent reactions in Springfield if Grayson is released.
“This city will burn,” Pacha said after a court hearing on the Grayson case Dec. 2.
State’s Attorney John Milhiser said he will ask the Supreme Court to agree to hear an appeal of the Appellate Court decision before Grayson’s potential release on Dec. 6. That’s when Cadagin is expected to comply with the Appellate Court’s order to determine appropriate conditions of pretrial release for Grayson.
Grayson is being held at the Macon County Jail.
Milhiser blamed the Pretrial Fairness Act, which abolished bail throughout Illinois on Sept. 18, 2023, for making Grayson eligible for release. The law was included in the SAFE-T Act, which stands for Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act and was passed by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker.
Milhiser has called for changes in the law to give local judges more discretion in considering whether to release or detain defendants while they await trial.
“The SAFE-T Act has made it less safe in communities across Illinois,” Milhiser said in a statement. “Under the short time frame required under the act, we filed a petition to detain Sean Grayson, including relevant available information, and made appropriate arguments at the (July 18) hearing. We agree with the Circuit Court’s determination that defendant Grayson poses a threat to the community that cannot be mitigated with conditions, and he should be detained while his case progresses.”
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This article appears in Winter Guide 2024.
I would like to remind the readers that ZERO Republicans voted for the SAFE-T act. Republicans tried to warn you that the SAFE-T act was a bad idea!
I’m looking forward to the day when democrats are able to look in the mirror and realize how woefully incompetent they are. Hahaha. Just kidding. That will obviously never happen. Even when their dumb ideas blow up in their own faces. Just blame Republicans. Much easier than thinking.
I do have one small nit-pick with the article.
The article writes, “Ken Pacha, an outspoken supporter of the family and a critic of police, said he fears there will be violent reactions in Springfield if Grayson is released.”
Ken Pacha wrote on Facebook “we’re coming full force with protests and more”.
I’d be interested to know what he meant by his statement on Facebook because it sounds to me like he’s not “fearful” of a violent reaction.