Sonya Massey’s Family Awarded $10M Settlement Following Fatal Shooting By Sangamon Police!

Noir Nation! Authorities of Sangamon County, Illinois, and the family of Sonya Massey have officially reached an agreed amount settlement of 10 million dollars!

A settlement for the agreed-upon award was made earlier this month between lawyers for the Massey family and representing attorneys for Sangamon, reports NBC News. A unanimous approval was issued on Tuesday (February 11th) by the Sangamon, County Board.

“It’s only the first step in the journey of justice,” said Civil rights attorney Ben Crump while appearing in a virtual news conference on Wednesday for Sonya’s heavenly birthday.

As we previously reported Sonya was tragically murdered last summer in her home by local police after she contacted officials for help. She believed there was an intruder on her property.

“We want civil accountability, criminal culpability and we want legislative changes,” said Crump. “We want the laws to prevent something like this from happening again.”

He and Antonio Romanucci, another attorney for the family, referred to the settlement as “historic.”

“It’s our understanding that this, by far, is the largest settlement reached in Sangamon County of any kind, let alone a civil rights case such as this one,” Romanucci said.

In response to online criticism that the agreed upon amount was too low, Romanucci explained saying it came to 50% of the sheriff’s office’s annual budget. 

“This settlement is magnanimous, and it’s very relevant, and it’s very significant, because, as Ben knows, we’re not in Minneapolis, we’re not in Memphis, we’re not in Louisville.”

He said in reference to other cities where he and Crump have negotiated or are negotiating settlements for the families of Black people killed by police. “We’re in Sangamon County.”

County administrator, Brian McFadden, said athat it is the largest settlement in his memory. County officialshave confirmed that the $10 million would be paid from a settlement fund as well as reserves from other county funds.

Romanucci says that the money will go to Sonya’s two children and that a court will rule on compensation for attorneys.