Sean Grayson, a former Illinois sheriff’s deputy whose fatal shooting of Sonya Massey inside her home became a flashpoint over police use of force, died Sunday while serving a 20-year prison sentence.
In May, only months into his sentence, he sought medical release under an Illinois law for prisoners with terminal illnesses or serious medical conditions. The Illinois Prisoner Review Board denied his request last month.
Grayson had been diagnosed with colon cancer before Massey’s killing, and his attorneys said at his sentencing that the disease had spread to his liver and lungs.
The Justice Department also opened a civil rights investigation after Massey’s death and later reached an agreement with Sangamon County, its sheriff’s office and other agencies requiring changes to policing and emergency response. Those changes included additional training for interactions with people with behavioral health disabilities and development of a mobile crisis response programme.
