Sonya Massey’s Father Speaks Out
December 7, 2024
James Wilburn, the father of Sonya Massey, said he’s “going to fight to keep my daughter’s killer in a jail cell.”
James Wilburn, the father of Sonya Massey, spoke out after the appellate court declared former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson should be released pre-trial. Wilburn addressed a crowd in the Illinois Capitol on Dec. 5.
Wilburn said, “Until an undertaker puts an embalming fluid in this body, I’m going to fight to keep my daughter’s killer in a jail cell.”
Massey was a 36-year-old Black woman shot and killed by Grayson, a white sheriff’s deputy, in her home in Woodside Township, Illinois, on July 6. Grayson shot Massey in the face after she moved a pot of water from the stove at their request.
Recently, an Illinois appellate court ruled against Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser. The appellate court denied that Grayson would be a threat to the public if released, and opposed him being reprimanded until his trial. The court ordered his release with a few behavioral conditions in just 35 days.
Grayson has been in jail since his arrest, but after this appellate court decision, Grayson could be released before his trial.
“Will it ever make sense? If these three appellate court justices think that Sean Grayson is not a danger to society, move them into their house. Let’s see if their wife and kids would allow him to move and live in their house with him,” Wilburn said.
As reported by WCIA, Wilburn also said, “My friends, my family, they try to keep me busy so that I’m not alone. It’s when I’m alone that I really, really meditate on the conversations that we used to have.”
Massey’s cousin Shadia Massey also spoke out, stating, “I think will hurt my auntie real bad. So I’m just asking (the appellate court) to do anything to not let him out of jail.”
Wilburn made it clear that he wouldn’t stop fighting for his daughter, no matter what the court said.
“I’m going to be in the face of those leaders in Washington, D.C. I know that we need to pass the George Floyd Policing Act. We need to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. We need to close up these holes in the safety here and our doors. Those are the kinds of things that I’ve dedicated my life to, to make those kinds of changes, whatever it takes.”
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