Lawyers for a former downstate cop convicted of murdering an unarmed Black woman in her Springfield-area home last year are seeking a new trial, alleging that errors by the judge swung the case against their client.

A jury in Peoria convicted Sean Grayson, 31, of one count of second-degree murder after he fatally shot Sonya Massey, 36, in the face while responding to her 911 call about a potential prowler outside her home.

In their first public response to that verdict, Grayson’s lawyers argue Sangamon County Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin erred when allowing the jury to hear disparaging remarks the then-Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy made after he shot Massey.

In body-worn camera footage of that night, Grayson can be heard discouraging his partner from administering first aid to Massey a

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