Former Illinois sheriff's deputy Sean Grayson has died in prison while serving a 20-year sentence for the murder of Sonya Massey, attorney Daniel Fultz said.
Grayson, 32, died around noon on Sunday, just six months into his prison term for second-degree murder, Fultz told NBC News.
Defense attorney Mark Wykoff revealed at Grayson's sentencing in January that the former officer was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer in 2023.
Medical release request and denial
Grayson filed a request for compassionate medical release on May 20 under Illinois' Joe Coleman Act, but the Illinois Prisoner Review Board denied the application last month.
Attorneys for Grayson stated in the petition that his cancer had progressed to Stage 4 and spread to his liver and lungs.
A medical professional with the Illinois Department of Corrections concluded Grayson was likely to die within 18 months, according to medical-release records obtained by Capitol News Illinois.
Grayson did not cite terminal illness in his petition. Instead, he applied under a section of the law covering inmates expected to become medically incapacitated within six months.
Enacted in 2022, the Joe Coleman Act allows state prisoners with terminal conditions or severe medical incapacitation to petition for early release. The law was named after Joe Coleman, an 82-year-old decorated Army veteran who died of prostate cancer while in prison.
Prosecutor and family opposition
Sangamon County State's Attorney John Milhiser strongly opposed Grayson's petition, urging the board to keep the former deputy behind bars because he already suffered from cancer when he killed Massey.
"Critically, Grayson had cancer when he committed this murder and his medical condition was explicitly considered at sentencing," Milhiser wrote in a submission to the panel. "To release Grayson under these circumstances would be a miscarriage of justice and an insult to Sonya Massey's memory and family."
Milhiser also argued that Grayson presented an ongoing threat despite his failing health. "His temper and willingness to escalate minor misunderstandings into fatal encounters shows that he poses a danger to any person he comes into contact with," Milhiser wrote.
Massey's relatives also testified against his release, telling officials that the application demonstrated Grayson still lacked remorse, according to Capitol News Illinois.
"He's a killer," Massey's cousin Sontae Massey previously told the outlet. "I apologize that he must suffer, but he has to pay for what he did."
Family response to Grayson's death
Attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, representing Massey's family, issued a statement on Sunday following news of Grayson's death in custody.
"Sonya Massey's death was unjustifiable and she should be alive today," Crump and Romanucci said. "Sean Grayson's death in custody from cancer does nothing to bring Sonya back."
"We wish his family prayers of peace, as we do for all who grieve a loved one," the lawyers added. "Sonya's family know that pain all to well and will grieve her loss the rest of their days."
The fatal shooting of Sonya Massey
Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old single mother of two, called 911 in the early hours of July 6, 2024, after suspecting a prowler was outside her home in Springfield, Illinois.
Grayson and another Sangamon County sheriff's deputy searched the surrounding property but found no intruder before entering the house to interview Massey.
While inside, Grayson instructed Massey to remove a pot of boiling water from the kitchen stove, saying: "We don't need a fire alarm here."
As the second deputy stepped back from the stove, Massey told the two officers: "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus."
Grayson drew his firearm and responded: "I'll fing shoot you right in the fing face."
Massey apologized and crouched to the floor, but Grayson advanced toward her and fired three times. One bullet struck Massey in the head, causing her death.
Body camera footage and sentencing
Grayson failed to turn on his body camera until after he had already fired his weapon, though the second deputy's camera recorded the entire shooting, according to Capitol News Illinois.
A jury convicted Grayson of second-degree murder in October 2024, and he received the maximum 20-year prison sentence in January. Although Grayson apologized during sentencing, he maintained in his medical-release filing that Massey had attacked him.
Nationwide protests and legal settlement
The fatal shooting of Massey sparked nationwide public protests, prompted an official review by the United States Department of Justice, and renewed national scrutiny of police hiring practices.
Sangamon County later agreed to a $10 million settlement with Massey's family to resolve a wrongful-death lawsuit stemming from the killing.
