India, Jan. 30 -- Sean Grayson, 32, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday for the second-degree murder of Sonya Massey. A former Sangamon County Sheriff's deputy, his fatal shooting of a woman who called 911 for help has drawn national attention to police accountability, use-of-force practices, and broader systemic failures within the United States criminal justice system today.

The conviction arises from a July 2024 incident caught on unsettling body camera footage and stands as a rare example of a law enforcement officer being handed maximum penalties for an on-duty killing.

Sean Grayson was a sheriff's deputy for Sangamon County, Illinois, a role he held for approximately six years before the July 6, 2024, shooting that end...