Shot in the Face For No Valid Reason: Racist Suspect Cop who Murdered Sonya Massey Sentenced to 20 Years in Jail. 2nd Degree Verdict by White Jury Saved Him from Possible Life Sentence

From [HERE] A white sheriff’s deputy convicted of murdering an unarmed Black woman in her Springfield area home was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison.

A jury in October found Sangamon County deputy Sean Grayson, 31, guilty of second-degree murder for fatally shooting Sonya Massey, 36, in the face in July 2024. The mother of two had called the police to report a potential prowler outside her house.

That was a lesser charge than the first-degree murder conviction Sangamon County prosecutors were originally seeking.

The jury was made up of 11 white people and 1 black person - nine men, and three women. [MORE]

Grayson was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the 2024 deadly police shooting, and the jury was given the option of convicting him of second-degree murder. They found him not guilty on all three counts of first-degree murder, sparing him a possible life sentence for killing Massey, a 36-year-old unarmed Black woman.

Grayson falsely claimed he was defending himself from Massey, who had called police to check on a suspected prowler. Grayson said that inside the home, Massey acted erratically and rebuked him "in the name of Jesus" while walking toward a pot of water on her stove.

He testi-lied that he viewed Massey's pot of boiling water as a threat and was trained to use force to gain compliance. 

Grayson then testified he closed the distance between himself and Massey to “gain a direct line of sight on her,” and that he intended to arrest her for aggravated assault on an officer. That’s when, Grayson said, Massey jumped up, grabbed the pot of water and made a throwing motion at him. Grayson then fired three times at Massey, one bullet striking her just under her left eye.

However, body-worn camera footage introduced by prosecutors in the trial showed Massey had already removed the pot when Grayson said he would “shoot her in her f***ing face,” and pointed his gun at her. Massey then put her hands in the air, said, “I’m sorry,” and ducked behind her counter.

Prosecutors said Grayson failed to render medical aid to Massey right after the shooting. 

CBS News Chicago legal expert Irv Miller said the jury's verdict was not particularly surprising, considering the evidence presented at trial and the fact that the judge gave the option for second degree murder in the first place. 

Miller explained that by finding Grayson guilty of second-degree murder, the jury determined that as a police officer he had an unreasonable belief that he was acting in self-defense when he opened fire on Massey. In this case, Miller said, whether or not Grayson's belief he was acting in self-defense was reasonable was pivotal; if a jury had found it was a reasonable belief, he would have been found not guilty. Since the jury found his belief was not reasonable, they found him guilty of second degree murder.