Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey commuted the death sentence of 75-year-old Charles “Sonny” Burton, thus halting his execution that had been scheduled for Thursday. The state has carried out 83 executions since 1976, and Ivey has overseen 25 of them during her time as governor. The decision on Tuesday marks only the second time since taking office in 2017 that Ivey has granted clemency to someone on the state’s death row.
Burton had been sentenced to death for his role in a 1991 robbery at an AutoZone store in Talladega that ended with the killing of customer Doug Battle. Although Burton admitted he participated in the armed robbery and took money from the store’s safe, prosecutors acknowledged that another participant, Derrick DeBruce, was the person who shot Battle in the back. Court testimony showed Burton and other accomplices had already left the store when Battle walked in and exchanged words with DeBruce, who then fired the fatal shot. DeBruce was initially sentenced to death as well, but his punishment was later reduced on appeal to life without parole.
Explaining her decision, Ivey said the imbalance in sentencing made the execution difficult to justify. “Doug Battle was brutally murdered by Derrick DeBruce while shopping in an auto parts store. But DeBruce was ultimately sentenced to life without parole. Charles Burton did not shoot the victim, did not direct the triggerman to shoot the victim and had already left the store by the time the shooting occurred. Yet Mr. Burton was set to be executed while DeBruce was allowed to live out his life in prison,” she said.
Although Ivey said she continues to support capital punishment as “just punishment for society’s most heinous offenders,” she concluded the circumstances in Burton’s case were different. “I cannot proceed in good conscience with the execution of Mr. Burton under such disparate circumstances. I believe it would be unjust for one participant in this crime to be executed while the participant who pulled the trigger was not,” she said.
Burton’s death sentence stemmed from the legal doctrine known as felony murder, which allows people involved in certain serious crimes—such as robbery—to be held responsible for a death that occurs during the offense, even if they did not carry out the killing themselves. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, 27 states permit such prosecutions.
Burton, who sometimes uses a wheelchair and has spent decades behind bars, had been slated to become the ninth person executed by nitrogen gas in Alabama—a method the state first used in 2024. In the weeks leading up to the planned execution, supporters, family members, and even some jurors from Burton’s 1992 trial urged the governor to intervene. One juror later wrote that prosecutors had portrayed Burton as the “ring leader,” shaping how the case was viewed and influencing the jury’s recommendation for a death sentence. Battle’s daughter also appealed for mercy in a letter to the governor, asking “how does it legally make sense” to execute Burton when the man who fired the gun would remain in prison for life.
Speaking from Holman Correctional Facility before the decision, Burton maintained that violence was never intended during the robbery. “I didn’t know anything about nobody getting hurt until we were on the way back. No, nobody supposed to get hurt,” he said, and expressed remorse for the victim’s family, saying, “I’m so sorry. If I had the power to bring him back, I would. I’m so sorry.”
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