Sean Grayson, a former Illinois sheriff’s deputy, was convicted Wednesday of second-degree homicide within the 2024 taking pictures of Sonya Massey, a Black mom of two who had known as 911 to report a doable prowler close to her Springfield house.

Grayson, beforehand charged with first-degree homicide, was discovered responsible of the lesser depend after the jury was instructed on each choices. Jurors deliberated almost 12 hours earlier than delivering the decision. Grayson’s kinfolk wept as the choice was learn in Sangamon County Circuit Court.

The conviction adopted a weeklong trial centered on physique digicam footage exhibiting Grayson fatally taking pictures Massey in her kitchen throughout a confrontation over a pot of boiling water. Prosecutors stated Massey complied with instructions and posed no risk when Grayson fired.

Grayson, who’s white, testified that he believed Massey meant to throw the water at him after she stated, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” He advised jurors he perceived her phrases as a risk and feared for his security.

Sean Grayson Found Guilty In Shooting Death Of Sonya Massey

First Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Beth Rodgers rejected that account, arguing Massey had apologized moments earlier than she was shot. “He wants you to believe he was scared,” Rodgers stated. “But the evidence shows he wasn’t.”

The incident sparked nationwide protests. It led to the passage of the Sonya Massey Act in Illinois, mandating enhanced background checks in police hiring.

Civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, who secured a $10 million civil settlement for Massey’s household, called the verdict “a measure of justice,” although they stated a first-degree conviction was warranted.

Legal analysts described the protection’s technique to incorporate the lesser cost as a calculated transfer to keep away from an “all-or-nothing” final result. Grayson now faces 4 to twenty years in jail and will serve half his sentence with good habits.

Outside the courthouse, demonstrators chanted Massey’s ultimate phrases as relations expressed frustration with the decision. “He showed no remorse,” stated her father, James Wilburn. “He was cocky the whole trial—until that verdict.”

Grayson’s sentencing is scheduled for later this yr. The case continues to resonate in debates over policing, race, and accountability throughout the United States.