Illinois board denies medical release for Sonya Massey shooter

Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy convicted of second-degree murder in the 2024 killing of Sonya Massey, will remain in prison after an Illinois panel rejected his request for medical release six months into his 20-year sentence.

The Illinois Prisoner Review Board voted 3-0 on Friday to deny Grayson’s application, board spokesperson Liz Mitchell said. Grayson had sought release under the Joe Coleman Act, which applies to incarcerated people who are terminally ill or medically incapacitated.

Grayson filed the request in May, citing advanced colon cancer. His attorney, Mark Wykoff, said at Grayson’s January sentencing that Grayson had been diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer in 2023. By the time he was sentenced, the cancer had progressed to Stage 4 and spread to his liver, lungs and rectum. Wykoff argued that prison time could worsen his condition.

A medical professional who evaluated Grayson for the state found his condition “irreversible and incurable” and indicated he was likely to die within 18 months because of cancer, according to an application obtained by NBC News through a Freedom of Information Act request. The doctor did not find him medically incapacitated, concluding the cancer did not prevent him from caring for himself in daily life.

Sangamon County State’s Attorney John C. Milhiser opposed the request in a letter to the board, writing that Grayson remained a danger to society and that his illness had already been considered at sentencing. He called release “a miscarriage of justice and an insult to Sonya Massey’s memory and family,” CBS News reported.

“Cancer does not make him less dangerous,” Milhiser wrote, according to NBC News. He said Grayson “was already diagnosed with cancer when he shot and killed Sonya Massey in her kitchen” and that “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.”

Massey had called authorities in 2024 to report a prowler outside her home. Grayson was dispatched and entered her apartment. While inside, Massey picked up a pot of boiling water from her stove, prompting Grayson to back away. When she asked where he was going, he replied, “Getting away from your hot steaming water,” according to Milhiser’s recounting.

Massey responded, “Away from my hot steaming water? I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” After Grayson appeared confused, she repeated, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Grayson then pointed his gun at her and threatened to shoot. Massey apologized and dropped to the floor, but Grayson fired three times, striking her. Milhiser said Grayson did not provide medical care as she lay bleeding and struggling to breathe. She was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

In a handwritten statement included with his application, Grayson maintained that Massey attacked him. “The female Sony (sic) Massey invited me inside,” he wrote, adding, “while inside she attacked me with a pot of boiling water and I fatally shot Ms. Massey.” CBS News reported that Grayson did not check a box on his application stating his condition was likely to be fatal within 18 months.

Massey’s family also opposed release. Her cousin, Sontae Massey, told Capitol News Illinois last month that Grayson “has to pay for what he did.” Attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, who represent the family, praised the board’s decision.

“The Prisoner Review Board made the right decision and reaffirmed the jury’s verdict and the sentence the court imposed,” the attorneys said in a joint statement, adding that “a badge does not provide an early way out.”