Sean Grayson, the white former sheriff’s deputy whose shots at Sonya Massey inside the Black single mother’s Woodside Township home two years ago set in motion his second-degree murder conviction and an ongoing racial reckoning in Sangamon County, died about noon Aug. 23.
Daniel Fultz, one of the Riverton resident’s attorneys, confirmed Grayson’s death to Illinois Times. But Fultz wouldn’t comment on circumstances surrounding the passing of his client, who had advanced colon cancer that spread to his liver and lungs and began to serve a 20-year prison sentence almost seven months ago.
The Illinois Department of Corrections didn’t immediately respond to phone and email inquiries.
Nationally known civil rights lawyer Ben Crump and Chicago-based lawyer Antonio Romanucci, attorneys for the family of Sonya Massey, 36, who was killed on July 4, 2024, said in a news release: “Sonya Massey’s death was unjustifiable, and she should be alive today. Sean Grayson’s death in custody from cancer does not bring Sonya back. We wish his family prayers of peace, as we do for all who grieve a loved one. Sonya’s family knows that pain all too well and will grieve her loss for the rest of their days.”
Massey, who was dealing with mental illness, was killed after calling 911 late at night when suspecting a prowler in her neighborhood.
Grayson and another deputy who wasn’t charged showed up, and a tense exchange between Grayson and Massey inside Massey’s home ended with Grayson firing his gun at her three times. One bullet hit Massey in the face and caused the bleeding that killed her.
Grayson contended that he was acting in self-defense after Massey picked up a pot of water that had been boiling on her stove and eventually raised the pot above her head and tried to throw the water at him.
Prosecutors said the exchange of words and Grayson’s behavior, captured on police-worn camera video that went viral, showed how he was unnecessarily aggressive and failed to follow his training to deescalate the situation.
During a trial that was moved to Peoria County because of extensive pretrial publicity, prosecutors said Massey held up the pot in an apparent effort to protect herself. Prosecutors also said Grayson overreacted when Massey told Grayson, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Massey’s death carried racial overtones because of the way Grayson treated Massey – who was much smaller in stature – as well as the profanity Grayson used before shooting Massey and disparaging remarks the former deputy made about Massey in the minutes following the shooting.
The case attracted nationwide media attention. Activists in the Black Lives Matter movement now mention Massey’s death and Springfield in the same breath as the deaths of George Floyd, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin and Laquan McDonald.
The case also led to numerous demonstrations in Springfield, the creation of the Massey Commission and numerous recommendations from the commission to improve police relations with the community and oversight, reform public-safety practices, reduce economic and racial disparities and improve access to mental health treatment.
A highlight of the commission’s work was the successful passage of a Sangamon County referendum in March to create a mental health board that will distribute an estimated $14.7 million annually collected through a new 0.5% local sales tax.
The Republican county sheriff who hired Grayson, Jack Campbell, retired unexpectedly amid calls for his resignation. He was replaced by appointed Sheriff Paula Crouch, a Republican who is seeking a full four-year term and will face Democrat Marc Bell in the Nov. 3 election.
Campbell, as well as other police agencies where Grayson worked and the state’s law-enforcement community in general, faced criticism for either being unaware of, or overlooking, conduct in Grayson’s past that critics identified as red flags.
The Illinois General Assembly in 2025 passed a bill named after Massey, signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker, that requires police departments to make thorough reviews of job applicants’ past employment. The new law requires former employers to make available the applicants’ personnel and disciplinary records for inspection by the hiring agency before an offer of employment can be made.
Teresa Haley, a community activist, friend of the Massey family and former president of the NAACP’s Springfield branch, said in a Facebook post after the news of Grayson’s death was spreading, “Justice has been served! Today is a great day! … Now the Springfield community can breathe a little better. But stay woke!”
Sonya Massey’s father, James Wilburn of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, said in a written statement, “Today doesn’t bring me joy, and it doesn’t bring me the peace of having my daughter back. Sean Grayson’s death closes one chapter, but it doesn’t erase the pain our family has carried since Sonya was taken away from us.”
Wilburn added, “My prayers have always been for accountability, truth and justice, not revenge. I hope the world continues to remember Sonya for who she was, and I hope her name continues to inspire meaningful change so that no other family has to endure this kind of loss.”
Grayson, 32, who was believed to be in custody at an unnamed correctional facility outside Illinois, opted not to appear in person in front of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board on July 31 when the board voted unanimously to deny Grayson’s request for release on medical grounds.
Grayson was sentenced to 20 years in prison by Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin on Jan. 29 after a jury of Peoria County residents disagreed with Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser’s original first-degree murder charges and instead decided to find Grayson guilty of the lesser charge of second-degree murder on Oct. 29, 2025.
Grayson’s lawyers had begun an appeal of his sentence to the 4th District of the Illinois Appellate Court.
Haley said Massey’s mother and father told him they were relieved they won’t have to go through the stress that Grayson’s court appeal would create.
“Hopefully, the family will be able to get some rest now that he’s gone,” Haley said.
The family wants to see continued improvements locally and nationally so people with mental illness get the help they need and Black people are treated fairly by police and the criminal-justice system, she said.
The PURPLE Coalition, a Springfield-based group that advocates for disadvantaged people and is named after Massey’s favorite color, said in a statement that the pain Grayson inflicted on the Massey family and the community “will remain as a scar on all of our hearts. But with his passing, we hope the journey towards healing can truly begin now that the specter of his release has, much like Sean, been put to rest.”
The coalition added, “One shouldn’t take joy in the passing of anyone, but evil leaving this world should always be noted, celebrated, and the hope of moving forward should begin with the joy of being released from the endless cycle of harm he perpetuated even after his conviction.”
The Massey Commission Action Network, a group pushing for implementation of the commission’s 26 “calls to action,” said in a statement that Grayson’s death “does not resolve the conditions that made Sonya Massey’s death possible. Those conditions remain our responsibility. So do the commitments made in Sonya’s name.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional details.
