Pine Bluff hosts a rally following the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey

Pine Bluff, Arkansas – The passing of Sonya Massey has had an effect on a great number of people all throughout the country, especially those who live in the central region of Arkansas.

A deputy with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department shot and killed Massey at her home in Illinois on July 6. Massey had called 911 to report a person who was suspected of being a prowler on her property.

The bodycam footage that was released several weeks after the shooting showed the moments that led up to the former deputy shooting Massey were captured on camera.

James Wilburn, Massey’s father, along with the NAACP chapter in Pine Bluff and community leaders, have voiced their concern about her passing through their statements. There are members of her family who reside in Pine Bluff, and they have planned a rally with the intention of persuading the state legislatures of Arkansas and Illinois to abolish the practice of providing immunity to law officers.

In an effort to ensure that justice is carried out in a timely manner, the authorities of Pine Bluff are pushing the family of Massey to receive the necessary support.

“I demand action to obviously charge and arrest the former deputy, but I will tell you it does not diminish the anguish and grief that Mr. Wilburn, her father, and so many others including this community and the entire country,” Pine Bluff Sheriff Lafayette Woods said.

Woods has stated that they would continue their quest for justice with the family after the funeral rites for Massey have been performed.

As a result of the circumstances surrounding Massey’s passing, former deputy Sean Grayson is being charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, and official misconduct. He has entered a plea of not guilty to all of the accusations, and he is set to appear in court once again in the month of August.