Listen Live
Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The woman killed by a now former Sangamon County deputy was remembered Friday morning. Nationally known civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, spoke at the service for Sonya Massey. “When the video is released, it is going to shock the conscience of America like the pictures of Emmett Till and the senseless video of Laquan McDonald.” Till was lynched in Mississippi in the 1950s and McDonald was shot 16 times by a Chicago police officer in 2014.
Crump led those in attendance at Ruby Funeral Services on East Washington Street in chants of “No justice. No peace.” He also demanded former deputy Sean Grayson, who is currently being held on first-degree murder charges, receive the same sentence someone would get for “killing a white woman in her own home.”
Grayson appeared in court Thursday to plead not guilty. Massey’s father James Wilburn, speaking at the funeral, said Grayson had a record full of red flags.
Mayor Misty Buscher, Ward 2 Alderman Shawn Gregory and County Board Member Sam Cahnman were among many who paid their respects. Gregory promised justice for Sonya, saying “every day we fight for policies that make our lives better, and we failed Sonya.”
Massey was shot in her home at 2868 Hoover Ave. on July 6 after Grayson and another deputy responded to a 9-1-1 call reporting a prowler. Bodycam video is set to be released Monday.