Zimbabwe News Update
bbc
3 min read
A former Illinois sheriff’s deputy has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the death last year of a householder who had reported a suspected intruder.Mother-of-two Sonya Massey, 36, was fatally shot on 6 July 2024 at her home near Springfield, Illinois, after calling 911 about a possible prowler.Ex-officer Sean Grayson, 31, said he opened fire because he thought Massey was about to throw a pot of boiling water on him.He was charged with first-degree murder, but the jury was allowed to convict him of the lesser charge of second-degree murder. Grayson faces up to 20 years in prison.
The killing reignited conversations about police brutality in the US, with then President Joe Biden saying Massey “should be alive today”. Massey was black and Grayson is white.Prosecutor John Milhiser said in his closing argument to the jury that Grayson had lost control and “snapped”.”These were not the actions of a scared young police officer doing a dangerous job,” Milhiser said. “These are the actions of a bully.”The incident unfolded in the early hours over Independence Day weekend when Massey called police to her home in Springfield, 200 miles (320km) south of Chicago, to report that she believed someone had broken into her property.
Police bodycam footage of the incident showed the chaotic moments that led to the shooting.Officers arrived at the home and followed Massey inside when she entered her property, and watched as she searched for her ID.In the video, Grayson sees a pot sitting on a lit stove, gestures towards it and says: “We don’t need a fire while we’re here.”Massey, who had received treatment for mental health issues, walks to the stove to remove the pot. She and Grayson appear to laugh over her pot of “steaming hot water”, before she twice says: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.””You better [expletive] not or I swear to God I’ll [expletive] shoot you in your [expletive] face,” Grayson says.
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