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Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has commuted the death sentence of a man who was set to be executed this week, saying she could not move forward with the execution under circumstances she described as unfair.
On Tuesday (March 10), Ivey reduced the sentence of Charles “Sonny” Burton to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the Associated Press. Burton, 75, had been scheduled to be executed on Thursday (March 12) at Alabama’s Holman Correctional Facility using nitrogen gas, a method the state has recently used in executions.
Burton was convicted in the 1991 killing of Doug Battle, a customer who was shot during a robbery at an AutoZone store in Talladega, Alabama. However, court testimony showed that Burton had already left the building when the fatal shot was fired.
Another man involved in the robbery, Derrick DeBruce, was identified as the person who shot Battle. DeBruce originally received a death sentence as well, but that punishment was later reduced on appeal to life in prison.
Ivey said the difference in those outcomes played a major role in her decision. “I believe in the death penalty,” the governor said in a statement, per the AP, calling it a “just punishment for society’s most heinous offenders.” But she added that the system must also be applied consistently.
“I cannot proceed in good conscience with the execution of Mr. Burton under such disparate circumstances,” Ivey said. “I believe it would be unjust for one participant in this crime to be executed while the participant who pulled the trigger was not.”
The commutation marks only the second time Ivey has granted clemency to a death row inmate since taking office in 2017. During her tenure, Alabama has carried out 25 executions.
Burton’s case had drawn renewed attention in recent weeks as supporters urged the governor to spare his life. Several jurors from Burton’s 1992 trial were among those asking for clemency. The victim’s daughter also wrote to Ivey questioning the fairness of executing someone who did not fire the fatal shot.
Burton had also expressed remorse for the crime. In a phone interview with the AP last month from Holman Correctional Facility, Burton said he did not know anyone had been shot until after the robbery was over.
“I didn’t know anything about nobody getting hurt until we were on the way back,” Burton told the outlet. “No, nobody [was] supposed to get hurt.”
He also apologized to the victim’s family. “I’m so sorry,” Burton said. “If I had the power to bring him back, I would. I’m so sorry.”
With the governor’s decision, Burton will now serve the rest of his life in prison instead of facing execution.
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