Sonya Massey's Killer Got Two Dimes!

Cancer is not an escape from the iron college.

Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County, Illinois deputy who shot and killed Sonya Massey of Springfield while responding to a police call at her home gets 20 years in the iron college.

After nearly two years in custody, Grayson looks like a shell of his former self. He tried to plea to the judge about his fiancé, Isabel Butterfield being sick. He said that he had terminal prostate cancer and was hoping that he could have supervised custody as he proceeds into a hospice. 

The judge denied it.

Basically, he will die either in the iron college or a hospital room if situations turn critical.

Grayson was convicted in October 2025 of second-degree murder for the July 2024 fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, a Black woman who called 911 to report a possible intruder at her home in Springfield, Illinois.

Judge Ryan Cadagin said that Grayson will also have a two-year mandatory supervised release and will receive credit for time served, according to Springfield ABC affiliate WICS, which was in the courtroom. He had been facing to four to 20 years in prison or probation, according to prosecutors.

Summer Massey, Sonya Massey's daughter who was 15 when her mother was fatally shot, told reporters that she was "grateful" that Grayson received the maximum sentence.

“I'm thankful for all the love and support that everybody has came out and shown and I'm grateful that we got the maximum sentence that we could," she said. "Twenty years is not enough, but ... they did what they could do.”

Grayson spoke ahead of his hearing and apologized to Massey's family, WICS reported.

During that fatal shooting, he didn't offer an ounce of sympathy. He literally shot her in the face because he feared for his life over gibberish being spoke by Massey. 

He thought that she was going to throw a pot of hot water on him. Whether she tried it or not, his ass reacted with a firearm instead of Taser. 

Just like that bitch Kim Potter, the police always gets away with murder. Potter spent 18 months in the iron college for killing Minneapolis native Daunte Wright. 

After she got out, Potter went into hiding. Wright's mother Katie vows to make her pay for her son's death.

Never forgotten. Sonya Massey, you should be alive right now.

Sonya's family vows to make Grayson pay.

"I wish there was something I could do to bring her back. I wish this didn't happen. I wish they [Massey's family] didn't have to go through this experience. I am very sorry," he said, according to WICS.

Addressing the judge, Grayson acknowledged that he "made a lot of mistakes" on the night Massey died, WICS reported.

"There were points when I should've acted, and I didn't -- I froze. I made terrible decisions that night. I'm sorry," he reportedly said.

Massey's mother, Donna Massey, and children delivered victim impact statements ahead of the sentencing, WICS noted.

"Today, I'm afraid to call the police in fear that I might end up like Sonya," Donna Massey said, according to WICS.

She addressed Grayson with the same words that Sonya Massey said to the former deputy before she was fatally shot, WICS reported: "Sean Grayson, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus."

Massey's son Malachi also spoke.

"I had to step up at 17. I had nowhere to go or nothing. I was just lost. I'm figuring it out a little bit now, but I still need my mom ... it's like a part of me is dead," Malachi Massey said during Thursday's hearing, WICS reported.

Sontae Massey, Massey's cousin, told WICS in an interview that aired ahead of the sentencing that her death "shattered" her family.

Ahead of sentencing Grayson, the judge denied on Thursday morning Grayson's request for a new trial.

Grayson's attorneys filed a motion for a new trial on Dec. 2, 2025, arguing that "several erroneous rulings" "resulted in prejudice to the defendant."

The motion, which was reviewed by ABC News, cited alleged "errors" that include "incorrectly" focusing on Grayson's "obligations as a police officer" when determining not to release him pre-trial, as opposed to "the danger he posed as a private citizen."

Grayson's attorneys also argued in the motion that the judge should not have admitted into evidence the body camera video that showed Grayson's "statements and actions" after he fatally shot Massey.

Grayson's attorneys declined to comment on his sentencing.

Sangamon County State's Attorney John Milhiser, who prosecuted Grayson, told ABC News on Thursday that his office filed a motion asking the judge to deny Grayson's request for a new trial.

Body camera footage of the July 6, 2024 incident shows Grayson, who was inside Massey's home, pointing to a pot of boiling water on her stove and says, "Walk away from your hot steaming water."

Massey then appears to pour the water into the sink and repeats the deputy's phrase before saying, "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus," according to the video.

Grayson threatens to shoot her and Massey apologizes and ducks down behind a counter, covering her face with what appears to be a red oven mitt, the video shows. As she briefly rises, Grayson shoots her three times in the face, the footage shows.

During Grayson's testimony, he told the jury he believed Massey was going to throw the scalding water on him and was scared.

The assistant state attorney said that Massey's final words before being shot with her hands up were, "I'm sorry," according to WICS.

Grayson was initially charged with three counts in connection to Massey's death -- first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Following the seven-day trial in October 2025, the jury was given the option of considering second-degree murder instead of first-degree murder.