Sonya Massey’s Family Receives $10M Settlement

By: Aria Bell
Blavity
https://blavity.com/

The family of Sonya Massey has agreed to a $10 million settlement with the county officials of Springfield, Illinois regarding the case surrounding her tragic death. Attorney Antonio Romanucci explained that the bulk of the money is slated for Massey’s two teenage children.

The family is still awaiting the criminal trial for former sheriff Deputy Sean Grayson who fatally shot Massey and for legislative changes to happen, but they are hopeful that things are moving in the right direction following the settlement, per The Associate Press. On Feb. 11, the Sangamon County Board endorsed the negotiated agreement, which comes at a sad time for the family. At a virtual news conference, civil rights attorney Ben Crump shared that the day after the committee approved the settlement would’ve been Massey’s 37th birthday.

“It is bittersweet,” Crump said. “This is our first step in getting full justice for Sonya Massey. … We want civil accountability, criminal culpability and we want legislative changes. We want the laws to prevent something like this from happening again.”

As Blavity reported, Massey was dealing with mental health issues when she called local authorities about a person potentially snooping around her residence in July 2023. When police officers arrived at her residence, Massey was boiling water on her stove. Grayson asked the officer he was with to remove the pot. Instead, Massey moved the pot and commented on the fact that Grayson was seemingly afraid. She then said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” He yelled and demanded that Massey put down the pot as he pulled out his gun and opened fire three times. Massey, who was ducking behind her kitchen counter, was struck under her eye.

In a four-year span, Grayson held six different roles due to a history of complaints marked by disciplinary and legal issues. Rep. Justin Slaughter, a Chicago Democrat, is responsible for pushing legislation to take more responsibility during the hiring phase by mandating full disclosure of officers’ records from previous departments.

“My heart is heavy today,” said Massey’s dad, James Wilburn, who supports Slaughter and Springfield Democratic state Sen. Doris Turner for their legislation to limit the amount of “frequent flyers who go from one department to another” to ensure that “no one else would have to feel the kind of hurt that we are feeling today.”

Grayson, who’s been charged with first-degree murder, remains behind bars until the court trial begins even though there was an unanimous ruling by the 4th District Appellate Court in November that his “pre-trial detention was improper,” per the Associated Press. The outlet also reported that “the panel of justices said prosecutors failed to show there were no conditions under which Grayson could be released without posing a threat to the community. Illinois eliminated cash bail in a law Slaughter sponsored which took effect in 2023, allowing judges to order detention only with sufficient cause.”

The Illinois Supreme Court is now weighing an appeal of that judgment.