A former Illinois sheriff’s deputy, Sean Grayson, will not receive an early medical release from his two-decade prison sentence for the killing of Sonya Massey. State officials made the decision on Friday.
Grayson was diagnosed with colon cancer before the 2024 shooting. His attorney noted in January that the cancer had progressed to his liver and lungs.
The three-member Illinois prisoner review board unanimously voted to deny Grayson’s application for early medical release, according to panel spokesperson Liz Mitchell. Grayson was convicted in October of second-degree murder for Massey’s killing and received the maximum 20-year sentence in January.
Grayson had filed for early release in May, six months into his sentence. Sangamon county state’s attorney John Milhiser opposed the release, stating that Grayson’s medical condition was considered during sentencing and that his release would be a “miscarriage of justice.”
Attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, representing Massey’s family, stated that the board “made the right decision.” Democratic governor JB Pritzker called Massey’s killing “a profound loss.”