CHICAGO (CBS) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday blasted Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell for hiring the deputy who shot and killed Sonya Massey in her kitchen after she called for help last month.
“How did the sheriff end up hiring this person—must have known their background, must have. I mean, no one hires somebody without checking out the hiree’s background,” Pritzker said, “and so I have a lot of questions, and I’m so far disappointed with the answers that I’m hearing from the sheriff.”
Campbell has defended his decision to hire Sean Grayson, the deputy who shot and killed Massey early on Saturday, July 6, at her house outside Springfield. He shot her when she checked on a pot of boiling water in her own kitchen while saying, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Grayson was fired from the Sangamon County Sheriff’s office and has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, and official misconduct in Massey’s death. He has pleaded not guilty.