Deputy in fatal Sonya Massey shooting to be released

 The Fourth District Appellate Court late Wednesday afternoon reversed the detention order of former Sangamon County Sheriff deputy Sean P. Grayson, charged in the July 6 fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, meaning Grayson will be released with conditions soon.

The ruling asks for the circuit court "to promptly set the case for a hearing to determine the least restrictive conditions of defendant’s pretrial release."

Grayson already has a hearing set for 9 a.m. Monday. Circuit Court Presiding Judge Ryan Cadagin, who had twice ordered Grayson to be detained under the Pre-Trial Fairness Act, will set a date with attorneys to consider conditions of his pre-trial release.

Those conditions may include home confinement or some sort of monitoring system.

The appellate court didn't weigh in about what those conditions might be.

Grayson's attorney, Daniel Fultz, had argued in the past that Grayson wasn't a flight risk and that he was dealing with complications from a diagnosis of Stage 3 colon cancer.

Cadagin had cited the former deputy's callousness during and after the shooting of Massey, including not rendering help to her.

Grayson is being held in the Macon County Jail in Decatur.

Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, was shot in her home after she had called 911 about a possible prowler around her home in an unincorporated area of Woodside Township.

The shooting, captured on the bodycam of Grayson's police partner, sent shock waves throughout the nation.

Earlier in November, the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation against the sheriff's office, noting "serious concerns about (the sheriff department's) interactions with Black people and people with behavioral health disabilities," along with a host of practices and procedures.

Fultz said a number of other issues need to get ironed out before Grayson's release, including whether the State decides to file a petition for leave to appeal to the Illinois State Supreme Court.

Steven Spearie

Springfield State Journal- Register