Sonya Massey was murdered unjustly by a police officer with a sordid history behind the badge and should have received the most elevated level of justice. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Yesterday, BOSSIP reported that former Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson was only convicted of second-degree murder and was cleared of the first-degree charge that he was also facing. As a result, instead of facing 45 years in prison, likely the rest of his natural life, he will now only be facing 20 years behind bars. It should go without saying that the family and the community at large is not remotely satisfied.
Said Donna Massey, following the verdict, via KSDK:
“Anyone who saw the video and thought it was partly Sonya’s fault is inhumane,” said her mother Donna Massey. “I can’t wait til he gets to hell.”
Sonya’s father, James Wilbur,n followed up with a similar sentiment:
“Sean Grayson should be able to get out of jail when my daughter can get out of that burial vault,” said James Wilburn, Massey’s father. “He said he was going to shoot her in the face and he did it.”
Sontae Massey, Sonya’s cousin, spoke to the soul-crushing circumstance that Black people have been painfully forced to acknowledge for years.
“I’m fueled by rage right now,” said Sontae Massey, cousin to Sonya Massey. “The justice system did exactly what it’s designed to do today. It’s not meant for us.”
This conviction is beyond disappointing, and we can only hope that the karma that Sean Grayson so richly deserves catches up with him inside the cold and unforgiving walls of a prison shower.
