Sonya Massey didn’t need to die. She was within the midst of a psychological well being disaster and as a substitute of serving to her, Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson determined to take her life by taking pictures her within the head. Subsequent the incident, it was revealed that Grayson had been discharged from six totally different police departments since 2020 and was discharged from 5 of them for numerous types of misconduct together with inappropriate conduct with an inmate and reckless high-speed chases. Moreover, Grayson has two DUI convictions on his report from his time within the Military the place he was discharged for “critical misconduct”. Presently, Grayson is sitting in jail rotting whereas he awaits trial for Massey’s first diploma homicide and a number of other different fees associated to that evening. Lengthy story quick, if SCSO would have performed their due diligence they’d have recognized that this man is trash earlier than they ordained him with a gun and badge to roam the streets.
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Based on Chicago Solar-Instances, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed the Sonya Massey invoice into regulation that fully overhauls the hiring course of for regulation enforcement officers statewide. Businesses will now be required to do complete critiques of candidate’s earlier employment historical past earlier than submitting them a suggestion. The Massey household feels {that a} system like this might have prevented Sonya’s dying by the hands of an officer who had extra purple flags than the nation of Denmark.
“When Sonya Massey feared for her security, she did what anybody would do: she known as for assist,” Pritzker mentioned at Tuesday’s invoice signing. “That turned a dying sentence for her.
“Sadly, what occurred to Sonya isn’t an remoted incident in America,” Pritzker added. “So what we do in the present day ought to serve for example throughout the nation, for different states and jurisdictions. Each considered one of these incidents is a preventable tragedy and an ethical pressure.”
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A number of members of Sonya’s household had been in attendance on the invoice signing together with her son, Malachi Hill.
“I miss my mother each single day, like day by day, and it hurts that she’s not right here with me, however I’m very glad that we will additionally get a invoice put in her identify, and her identify can stay on for eternally.”
One of many invoice’s sponsors isn’t solely a politician, however an in depth buddy to the household, State Sen. Doris Turner.
“I’ll let you know unequivocally, in my 25 years of elected workplace, that is the least political factor I’ve ever performed, however it’s an important factor I’ve ever performed,”
We hope and pray that there by no means must be one other invoice signed with a lifeless Black individual’s identify connected.
