Grayson to remain jailed as state Supreme Court considers release request

[December 17, 2024]  By Beth Hundsdorfer

The Illinois Supreme Court declined to issue an order to release former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson as it considers whether to hear an appeal regarding his pretrial detention.

Grayson is charged with first-degree murder for killing Sonya Massey inside her home near Springfield on July 6.

Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser petitioned for Grayson to be detained after he was initially charged in July, and he has been in custody ever since. But an Illinois appellate court found in November that a circuit judge erred when finding Grayson should remain in jail because prosecutors failed to provide evidence that Grayson was an ongoing threat to the public, even though he was no longer a police officer.

Milhiser stated in his request to appeal the ruling that the appellate court gave undue weight to a pretrial assessment tool that calculates risk to the public if a defendant is released pending trial. Grayson failed to disclose his two previous driving under the influence convictions that would have changed his score on that assessment, according to the court document, which also noted “the mere fact that defendant was no longer a police officer did not mitigate his risk.”

The appellate court on Nov. 27 ordered the circuit court to hold a new detention hearing to consider whether there were conditions, such as home detention or supervision, that would address concerns for public safety while allowing for Grayson’s release.

But before that hearing was held, prosecutors asked the Supreme Court to intervene. The Supreme Court has not yet decided whether it will consider Grayson’s case, which could prove to be an early test of the state’s SAFE-T Act. That law eliminated cash bail effective September 2023.

The SAFE-T Act’s pretrial detention provisions allow judges to detain individuals who have been charged with certain crimes while they await trial, provided the individual is a threat to a person or the community and there are no other less restrictive methods that could ensure public safety.

Grayson’s attorneys argued that the Supreme Court should issue a supervisory order directing the appellate court to promptly “set the case for a hearing to determine the least restrictive conditions of defendant’s pretrial release.”

A Macon County Sheriff’s Office mugshot of Sean Grayson was taken on Oct. 24. Grayson, a former Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy, is charged with the first-degree murder of Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court decided not to issue that supervisory order. That means Grayson will remain jailed as the appeal makes its way through the courts.

An email from the offices of attorneys Benjamin Crump and Antonio Romanucci, who represent the Massey family, praised the Supreme Court’s decision in a statement.

“The Illinois Supreme Court’s decision to deny Sean Grayson’s release is a relief for Sonya Massey’s family,” the lawyers said in a statement. “By upholding their responsibility to prioritize public safety, the court has sent a powerful message that the rights and safety of the community must come first and accountability must be pursued.”

After his arrest, Grayson was housed in the Menard County Jail, but in late October, he was transferred to the larger Macon County Jail in Decatur. He was diagnosed with cancer and continues to receive treatment while there.

Massey, a Black woman, called police on July 6 to report a prowler outside her home. Grayson, who is white, shot an unarmed Massey in her kitchen. Massey was experiencing a mental health crisis at the time of her death, according to a family spokesperson.

Grayson worked for six central Illinois law enforcement agencies in four years. He worked for the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office for just over a year when he was fired after being charged with murder.

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