Illinois court orders pretrial release for deputy charged in Sonya Massey’s killing

AP Political Writer

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois appellate court has ruled that a former deputy sheriff charged with murder in the shooting death of Sonya Massey should be released from jail pending trial. The 4th District Appellate Court issued a unanimous opinion Wednesday declaring that a circuit court’s ruling to deny Sean Grayson release from jail was improper. The court found that prosecutors did not provide sufficient evidence that there were no conditions the court could set that would reduce the danger Grayson posed to the community. It ordered a new hearing to set suitable release conditions. Grayson is charged with first-degree murder in the July 6 shooting. The 36-year-old Black woman had called police for help.