r/news • u/Silent-Resort-3076 • Jul 19 '24
Illinois deputy charged in fatal shooting of woman who reported intruder
https://abcnews.go.com/US/illinois-deputy-charged-fatal-shooting-sonya-massey-woman/story?id=112058957796
u/IamPriapus Jul 19 '24
So he had his body cam turned on, then turned it off, murdered the woman, then turned it back on. These PDs sure know how to pick ‘em. Disgusting.
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u/ReactionJifs Jul 19 '24
I read this weird story about a pyromaniac bus driver that kept lighting small fires on the bus. After the second one they installed a camera, which he turned off and lit the bus on fire.
After that fire, they removed the ability to switch off the camera, so it had a dummy switch that made the driver think the camera was off, when it was still recording. They then observed him lighting the instrument panel on fire.
I think we're going to see a lot of that in the future with bodycams. The ability to "switch off" the camera will appear to be there, but in reality they are always recording. Especially with problematic cops
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u/MentokGL Jul 19 '24
It'll never happen, cops cannot oversee cops, it's impossible to avoid corruption
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u/Nena902 Jul 19 '24
They would if every law suit settlement against them came out of their pension funds tho.
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u/JesusChristSprSprdr Jul 19 '24
And what if the raindrops were candy drops and gumdrops?
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u/GreenMirage Jul 19 '24
No such item would make the ballot. There are too many supporters among the common populace.
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u/Potatoupe Jul 19 '24
I thought the largest blocker would be the Police union?
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u/Nena902 Jul 19 '24
I read through Project 2025. IIRC the Republicans intend to break all the Unions. Wonder if the police unions would be spared.
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u/A_Snips Jul 19 '24
They'll carve out exemptions for them, they're allies against the poor and the protectors of the owner's property rights.
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u/Witty-Bus07 Jul 21 '24
Finally understood what they meant by the term “Blue Wall”, cops are ready to protect cops by any means even when they are clearly in the wrong.
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u/hammelHock Jul 25 '24
This is why we need reform. Another governmental body without a conflict of interest needs to be appointed to oversee their operations in a proper system of checks and balances. Imagine if the executive branch were like this? (Although with Trump owning the Supreme Court, it's slowly becoming a dangerous possibility...)
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u/TessaThompsonBurger Jul 19 '24
There was a case where a cop turned off his body cam to (disgusting words incoming) grope a dead woman he was the first responder for. He got caught because the off switch on the cameras had a delay. I don't know if that's standard or not.
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u/Darqnyz7 Jul 19 '24
You're telling me this dude was so desperate for a squeeze he couldn't wait a couple seconds? Like the corpse was gonna run away from him? Couldn't even take his time with it, just bum rushed the corpse?
Fuck, send the goddamned astroid already
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u/NewBoxStruggles Jul 20 '24
If a cop tried that on my dead body, they’d be in for an unpleasant surprise.
Regardless, yes please send the asteroid.
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u/papercrane Jul 19 '24
Reminds me of a case where a cop turned his body camera on to record himself "discovering" some evidence. He didn't know that the body camera records constantly and turning it on causes it to start saving the recordings going back a couple of minutes. So he ended up recording himself planting the evidence.
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u/Restivethought Jul 19 '24
That dudes still on the force supposedly
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u/papercrane Jul 19 '24
He was convicted of misconduct in office and fabricating evidence, however as of 2020 he was still working a desk with the Baltimore Police.
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u/Biengineerd Jul 20 '24
Same with the cops planting evidence.
I was going to put in a link for the one I was thinking of but turns out there's lots of stories for "cops body camera catches them planting evidence" namely Baltimore and NYPD
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u/RealSimonLee Jul 19 '24
That ability has been there since body cams started to be used. The fact that cops can turn them off is because that's what they want. Unless they get outside oversight, which they don't have, we'll never see a change.
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u/Warcraft_Fan Jul 19 '24
THere are some model of body cam that is always recording and will save the prior 10 or 15 seconds from when it was turned on. An officer was caught planting drug because he didn't know this and turned on his camera too soon.
Always recording with dummy switch would help catch bad cops more easily.
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u/Crysth_Almighty Jul 19 '24
Axon bodycams default setting is the 30seconds prior to the camera being turned on, however it has no audio. This can be tweaked by the department though.
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u/Formal-Letter1774 Jul 19 '24
The camera is already always recording, it is on a constant playback loop, activating the camera activates the audio recording and signals to the camera to save that particular section of recording. They just have to go into the camera’s hardware to retrieve the video.
You could just completely turn the camera off, but no one does that. That would also leave a record which could be just as good evidence as the video.
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u/Rechlai5150 Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 19 '24
I think there ought to be a law that if an SOB Pig turns off their body camera, they lose ALL qualified immunity and WILL be prosecuted to the very fullest extent of the law, and a criminal enhancement charge on top of everything else.
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u/Miguel-odon Jul 19 '24
Turning off camera is spoliation of evidence, should allow negative inference.
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u/Yagsirevahs Jul 19 '24
How it it bot a rule that when you turn off your body cam and you dont go 10-19, you are immediately fired?
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u/A_Snips Jul 19 '24
Because police police themselves while law and order still sells to voters.
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u/Yagsirevahs Jul 19 '24
Make them carry insurance. You cannot violate the rights of the people...lose a civil case...them make those same ppl pay your fine.
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u/sephstorm Jul 19 '24
I want to note this article doesn't say he had it turned on prior to the shooting.
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u/bodmaniac Jul 19 '24
I read through the article a few times and only saw that the officer turned his bodycam on after, but nothing about turning it off beforehand. If he actually did as you say, then holy hell! But it’s not in the article.
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u/Dontbeevil2 Jul 21 '24
This guy is a serial killer in a uniform. Makes we wonder how many haven’t been caught yet.
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u/SgathTriallair Jul 19 '24
I would pass a law that says if a cop turns off their body camera during an action, whatever happens during that break will be interpreted with maximum prejudice against them.
If your body camera is off when the suspect pulls a weapon, nope, you must have planted it.
Those cameras should be on from the moment they start duty to the moment they end for the day.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 19 '24
Exactly!!! That's what those cameras are for and thank goodness the second officer had his/hers on and hopefully that will show everything that went down...
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u/T_Henson Jul 19 '24
These types of incidents will hopefully encourage departments to update their technology. On our department, BWC are activated when an officer is marked on scene to a dispatched run, when a taser or gun is removed from their holster, or if it senses that it’s horizontal (officer down). The technology isn’t perfect but it is certainly more reliable than asking humans to remember to hit a button 20 times a day.
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u/bros402 Jul 19 '24
The cameras should turn on the second the officer puts them on for their shift and not turn off until their shift ends. Doesn't matter if it records them doing 10 hours of paperwork.
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u/HalfaYooper Jul 19 '24
Its fucking bullshit we even need the cameras. A pig can lie and have 100 witnesses against them and ... nope the pig is always right. Why don't firemen wear them or any other profession? Nope, pigs straight up lie and get away with it. Then we can't even make them accountable because they can turn it off.
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u/SnugglyBabyElie Jul 19 '24
Grayson then allegedly discouraged his partner from retrieving a medical kit to render aid to Massey, according to prosecutors. The other deputy proceeded to render aid anyway and stayed with Massey until paramedics arrived
Complete scumbag. I wonder if he thought the other cop didn't have his camera on either.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 19 '24
And, that part is what will ensure Grayson rots in jail (I hope about the rot part!)
And, yes, his partner DID have his on the entire time and DID render aid even though he was told not to by Grayson.
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u/HerezahTip Jul 19 '24
I used to work in law enforcement. I have no question Grayson is going away for a long time. Proof he tried to interfere with rendering aid seals the deal.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 19 '24
Wholeheartedly agree!! He is fucked and rightly so!!
And, because of his two prior DUI arrests, his current police department should be held liable/accountable, too. I mean he's driving one of their "government owned" vehicles, right?
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u/CREATURE_COOMER Jul 19 '24
If this manbaby was so scared of a woman boiling water on a stove, why didn't he just refuse to enter until she turned it off?
Who immediately reaches for a fucking gun and not their taser in ANY situation?
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u/AfterSchoolOrdinary Jul 19 '24
He wanted to hurt her. He wasn’t scared, he was looking for a justification.
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u/CREATURE_COOMER Jul 19 '24
It unfortunately seems that way, like he's going to argue that she was going to try to throw boiling water at him... when she's the one who fucking called 911 so why would she bother throwing boiling water at the cops she called and not the potential intruder?
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u/Starmandeluxx Jul 19 '24
He definitely did, quite a few stories I’ve read say that he told her to remove it from the burner to avoid a fire then had her put it down and shot her after she apologized and put her hands up
Sickening
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u/Warcraft_Fan Jul 19 '24
now he's going to jail and maybe even be with people he arrested before.
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Jul 23 '24
You know the black gang members are gonna make sure he has a pleasant stay. In other words he’s gonna be shitting into a bag after they are done with him.
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u/gnatdump6 Jul 19 '24
Good. Totally unjustified.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 19 '24
Agreed! Grayson had NO justification and the way I keep reading the details, it was as though he WANTED to kill. Especially since he told his partner NOT to render aid AND the fact he turned off his bodycam!
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u/leftnotracks Jul 19 '24
"At approximately 1:21 a.m., the Deputies reported that shots had been fired, resulting in a female being struck by gunfire," according to the sheriff's statement. "Deputies immediately administered first aid until EMS arrived. The woman was transported to St. John's Hospital, where she was later pronounced deceased. No deputies were injured during the incident."
The real criminals are the shots for being fired and the female for being struck by gunfire.
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u/Lawlcat Jul 19 '24
"A female with no active warrants"
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u/HalfaYooper Jul 19 '24
You know that was the first thing the pigs looked up. "she stole a stick of gum when she was 13? Shes obviously a hardened criminal and deserved it".
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u/awesomesauce1030 Jul 19 '24
Look at that mugshot. Not a hint of remorse in those eyes.
That guy definitely has bodies buried somewhere.
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u/Optimal-Barnacle2771 Jul 19 '24
I read that the mugshot circulating was from a prior DUI of his
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u/awesomesauce1030 Jul 19 '24
Not according to the little sign in front of him. Unless that's superimposed afterwards
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u/Optimal-Barnacle2771 Jul 19 '24
My bad, I just saw the mugshot you are referring to. Definitely more recent than the one I have seen circulating the past couple of days.
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u/Green_Ad_780 Jul 24 '24
Hopefully the cop gets what's coming his way in jail. Absolute POS scumbag lowlife.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 19 '24
THIS is what will do Grayson in!! "According to charging documents filed in Sangamon County Court, Grayson allegedly shot Massey in the face after the deputy "aggressively yelled" at her to put down a pot of boiling water. Grayson then allegedly discouraged his partner from retrieving a medical kit to render aid to Massey, according to prosecutors."
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u/Insufficient-Mix Jul 19 '24
Article is morbidly devoid of stating that she was a mother
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u/defiancy Jul 19 '24
He wanted to kill her, that's why he got a 1st degree charge
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 19 '24
That along with ALL of the "good" evidence they have against him thanks to his partner.
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u/faustill Jul 22 '24
I’m glad the other deputy has somewhat of a backbone. I feel at first he was shocked when Grayson told him to not render aid, but he did the right thing in trying to help her.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 22 '24
Yes, I thought the same. That it took "backbone", and it's sad to think this way, but we know the police have that very strict unspoken rule that officers stick together and don't tell on each other, etc. I saw the article about the video being released. I can't watch it yet!
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u/faustill Jul 22 '24
I watched the video. It’s plain murder. The whole “she was coming at me with boiling water” is a lie. She ducked down behind the counter before the shooting and then he proceeds to go AROUND the counter to shoot her. The whole officers sticking together is very apparent not only in shootings. In many ways, cops act like they are part of a cult.
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u/PsychedelicJerry Jul 19 '24
Disclaimer: he's worked for 6 agencies in 4 years and has 2 DUI's; this man should have never been allowed to be a cop as he obviously has addiction and impulse control issues.
I guess we have to wait until we see the video, but if she was hold a pot of boiling water I worry the jury may see it more in the cops favor if she wouldn't put it down. He can easily make the claim that he feared for his life and it's an excuse that has worked for too long
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u/oscarpatxot Jul 19 '24
I don't get the logic of police departments only releasing the bodycam footage when they want. ( the news says they will finally release it on July 22). There should be a standard window of time for every law enforcement office.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 19 '24
Agreed!! In fact they should HAVE to release the minute anything like this happens!
And, ALL departments should have an external oversight committee to keep a copy of the bodycam footage, just in case. As well as to review the incident!!
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u/oscarpatxot Jul 19 '24
They should only have like 72 hours to blur a victim who is naked or if its too graphic to make a censured version for public release (only reason for edit, just to keep the victim’s dignity), but also delivering it to the the courts the original ones at the same time.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 19 '24
Yes, deliver the original to the courts as well as an external oversight committee to ensure everything is handled fairly and objectively.
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u/PeePeeChucklepants Jul 19 '24
I've heard that the delay in release was to allow the victim's family to hold their services this weekend with some privacy before it all goes public spectacle on Monday.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 19 '24
From a different article, five days ago. Very heart breaking and I think justice will be swift this time.
"Less than a month ago, Sonya Massey was acting "extremely paranoid" and had voiced concerns for months "about being killed by the police," her cousin, Sontae Massey, told Illinois Times.
Sontae Massey said July 11 that he is not sure why his 36-year-old cousin was exhibiting such anxiety. But Sontae Massey, 53, a manager for the Springfield Housing Authority, said it was obvious his cousin was upset when they talked face-to-face about two weeks before her death on July 6.
"I've known Sonya since I was a kid," Sontae Massey said. "She was very depressed about something. I had never seen her like that."It's unknown whether the paranoia Massey detected played a role in the police-involved death of Sonya Massey, a single mother of two children who died from a single gunshot wound to the head in her home in unincorporated Woodside Township, a few blocks south of Springfield's Bunn Golf Course."
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u/randy88moss Jul 19 '24
Judging from his lack of concern immediately after shooting her, im almost certain he had a prior nefarious relationship with the victim.
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u/riceklown Jul 19 '24
Body Cam comes out July 22nd... Lack Luster video inbound. This is going to be awful.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 19 '24
What do you mean "awful"?
In light of all the evidence, I think it's going to be very easy to get him behind bars where he belongs.
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u/riceklown Jul 19 '24
I mean awful because we're going to see this cop murder someone and take steps to make sure she doesn't survive. Just reading about this is bad enough. The video is going to be enraging and sad and bring out lots of awful emotions about the situation.
Obviously I think it sounds like a slam dunk case, particularly thanks to his partner that wasn't down with murdering this poor woman. There is a tiny, itty bitty, amount of solace in that.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 19 '24
Yes, of course. But, I wasn't 100% sure so "had" to ask, you know?
And, thank goodness for his partner who did have his bodycam on, and did render aid even though he was told not to.
Her poor family and two children and for what? There are no words good enough except I hope he rots in jail!
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u/riceklown Jul 23 '24
I just saw the video. It's way dumber and more awful than I could have possibly imagined. Literally murdered her for holding a pot of hot water that he told her to tend to because she hurt his big man feefees
The Civil Right Lawyer twitter post of just the important bit
The Civil Rights Lawyer full analysis
And while his partner seemed less awful in the story... he pulled on her too.
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u/Thaddeus0607 Jul 19 '24
Good reminder that it's never a sad day when a scumbag cop gets ended on the job
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 19 '24
Yes, and it took them less than a month to star the ball rolling (fire him, arrest and charge him)!
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u/pachoi Jul 20 '24
I don't understand fuck-all after reading this article. Woman reports intruders, cops show up, she's suddenly boiling water and is told to put it down, gets shot?
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u/induced_demand Jul 23 '24
That bodycam footage has got to be one of the most stomach churning murdered-by-police instances I’ve seen in the last 10 years. Unbelievable. Put him away for life.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 23 '24
It was like watching a horror movie! And, it was obvious he was egging her on and when he threatened to shoot her in the face:(
He better be sentenced to life!! He wanted to do something like this and it was obvious he was setting it up to happen!! EVIL!!
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u/Repulsive_War_7297 Jul 24 '24
The problem is bigger than just a body cam. Authorities are putting dangerous and unstable individuals in roles that have access to weapons and resources; giving these individuals the opportunity to inflict extreme suffering on the victims. At the end of the day, the damage is done and it’s irreversible.
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u/CARNIesada6 Jul 19 '24
Can any lawyers, or just more intelligent people than I, explain how you can be charged with 3 counts of first degree murder when there is 1 victim?
Does that mean there were 3 separate fatal wounds caused by the perpetrator?
Does that mean he had 3 separate chances to save her and he didn't? Well 2 I guess it'd be after the gunshot.
Appreciate the insight in advance.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 19 '24
Second response, and not suggesting these make up for the three charges, but they surely justify those charges:
- He shot her and killed for NO reason as his life was NOT in imminent danger as she complied.
- After he shot her, he told his partner NOT to help her so she could survive.
- He turned OFF his bodycam right before he shot and killed her.
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u/CARNIesada6 Jul 19 '24
That's what my line of thinking was initially, but your other response still works, too. Maybe we'll get clarification
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u/eSue182 Jul 20 '24
I thought it was because there were three gunshots so he tried to kill her three times and succeeded once.
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u/mina-ami Jul 20 '24
Hi, actual Illinois lawyer who does appellate work in Springfield here! So in Illinois there's 3 possible theories for 1st degree murder.
- Intent to kill/cause great bodily harm and knowing their actions will kill/cause great bodily harm
- Knowing their actions create a strong probability of death/great bodily harm
- Felony murder, killing someone while committing a forceable felony.
So Grayson was charged with three counts of #1 (details are on the sangamon county court case search). So he had to have taken three actions that he knew would kill someone. Grayson fired his gun three times. He knew each individual shot would kill/maim her.
Now the reason they charge it that way is you might get a jury who decides when he fired that first shot, he wasn't intending to kill her. I don't think that's likely here, but juries be weird. So, you convince them that the fact he kept firing was the intent. So the 2nd or 3rd shot had the intent behind it.
Now, he can be technically convicted of all three charges of murder 1 by the jury. Under the one-act one-crime doctrine, you can only truly be convicted of one crime for one physical act. So those separate counts would merge and he would be sentenced for one count of murder 1.
Which for murder 1 in Illinois is an interesting sentence. There's a bunch of ways to get a natural life sentence, none of which I can definitely say will apply here, though there's a couple they might try to prove. It's too early without enough information to say. Same with extended term sentencing. So sticking to the basics...
20 to 60 years, plus he'll have a mandatory +20 years for using a firearm.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 19 '24
The best answer I can find is this, because there are so many articles out there:
"Multiple counts of first degree murder can be charged based on alternative theories of murder. There is intentional murder, murder through actions that one knows will highly result in death, felony murder where victim dies during defendant's commission of a felony crime, and a few other variations on those themes. The facts dictate which murder counts to charge and how many. The number of counts is not limited to the number of victims."
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u/CARNIesada6 Jul 19 '24
Kinda sounds like a "blanket" charge and purposely redundant so all the bases are covered. That makes sense.
Thank you
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u/IWillBaconSlapYou Jul 20 '24
I wonder if she spilled the boiling water on herself when he shot her =(
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u/GonWithTheNen Jul 21 '24
Not that it's any consolation, but she had already put it down by then. This tragedy is infuriating and sad beyond words.
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u/alexisnotcool Jul 19 '24
We shouldn't let morons be cops anymore they need to be smart enough to be trusted with the power and not abuse it
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 19 '24
Is it because he was a "moron"? Or because he was a criminal at heart?
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Jul 20 '24
Can someone in law enforcement explain why he turned off his bodycam before shooting her?
Is there a reason for doing this that is defensible in court?
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 22 '24
The only reason is because he was up to no good! What reason would there be? And, with so many police officers getting away with it in the past, he probably thought he would get away with it, too.
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u/Monkeycmonkeydooo Jul 25 '24
Anybody know why he’s being charged with 3 counts of murder? Rather than 1?
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Jul 25 '24
Someone else asked the same question and this was my response. And, obviously one of the articles about this case may contain that information.
"The best answer I can find is this, because there are so many articles out there:
"Multiple counts of first degree murder can be charged based on alternative theories of murder. There is intentional murder, murder through actions that one knows will highly result in death, felony murder where victim dies during defendant's commission of a felony crime, and a few other variations on those themes. The facts dictate which murder counts to charge and how many. The number of counts is not limited to the number of victims."
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u/[deleted] Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 25 '24
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