Mostly White Jury (11) Chosen for White Cop who Murdered Sonya Massey: Shot Black Woman in the Face as She Knelt Down w/Hands Up. Trial Moved to Peoria [don't expect justice in system of racism]

Jury selection was completed in the murder trial of an Illinois sheriff’s deputy charged with killing Sonya Massey, a Black woman shot in her home last year after calling police for help.

By 5 p.m., a panel of 12 jurors and three alternates had been chosen. The main jury consists of nine men, and three women; 11 of them White, one of them Black. Opening statements have been set to begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday. [MORE]

Sean Grayson, 31, responding to a call about a suspected prowler, fired on the 36-year-old Massey in her Springfield home early on July 6, 2024, after confronting her about how she was handling a pan of hot water Grayson had ordered removed from her stove.

In addition to first-degree murder, Grayson is charged with aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He has pleaded not guilty.

Widespread attention to Grayson’s shooting of Massey prompted Sangamon County Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin to move the trial from Springfield, 200 miles southwest of Chicago. Jurors will instead come from Peoria and surrounding areas, an hour’s drive north, and will hear the case in their local courthouse.

Grayson, who is white, faces a sentence of 45 years to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder. [MORE]