Key Takeaways
- Gov. Kay Ivey halted a scheduled Alabama execution by commuting Charles “Sonny” Burton’s sentence to life in prison without parole.
- Burton was convicted in a 1991 Talladega robbery, though court testimony showed another man fired the fatal shot.
- Advocates and several jurors supported clemency, arguing that capital punishment was disproportionate compared to the shooter’s life sentence.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has commuted the death sentence of Charles “Sonny” Burton, a 75-year-old Black man who spent more than three decades on death row for a killing prosecutors acknowledge he did not personally commit.
The decision, announced Tuesday (March 10), spares Burton from an execution scheduled for Thursday (March 12) night using nitrogen gas. According to the Associated Press, his sentence has been reduced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Burton had been convicted in connection with the 1991 robbery of an AutoZone store in Talladega, Alabama, where a customer was shot and killed. Court testimony indicated the fatal shot was fired by another participant, Derrick DeBruce, after Burton had already left the building.
Ivey said the circumstances made the death penalty impossible to justify. “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 in a statement.
DeBruce originally received a death sentence as well, but it was later reduced to life in prison after an appeal. Supporters argued that capital punishment was disproportionate, especially because the man who fired the gun ultimately avoided execution. Nearly 85,000 people to date have signed a petition urging Ivey to commute Burton’s sentence. Six of the eight living jurors from his 1992 trial reportedly supported commuting his sentence, and three formally requested clemency after learning the shooter ultimately received life without parole.
Charles Burton’s family reacts with relief after Alabama governor commutes death sentence
News of the clemency brought emotional relief to Burton’s family. “I’m just so happy, so happy. It’s just tears of joy,” Burton’s daughter, Lois Harris, said through tears during a telephone interview with AP. Harris added that she wanted to thank Ivey for her decision.
Burton himself previously expressed regret for the robbery and the tragedy that followed. “I didn’t know anything about nobody getting hurt until we were on the way back. No, nobody [was] supposed to get hurt,” Burton said in a phone interview from Alabama’s Holman Correctional Facility last month. He also offered an apology to the victim’s family. “I’m so sorry. If I had the power to bring him back, I would. I’m so sorry,” Burton said.
Advocates say Charles Burton’s case highlights deeper flaws in the death penalty
Advocates against capital punishment praised the governor’s decision and pointed to Burton’s case as evidence of broader issues within the system. "We are grateful that Governor Ivey recognized that Charles ‘Sonny’ Burton should not be executed. The death penalty process is deeply flawed when someone who was not present for the killing faces execution, while the person who committed the murder does not. It is uplifting to see that more and more governors across the ideological spectrum are recognizing problems with death penalty cases," Laura Porter, executive director of the U.S. Campaign to End the Death Penalty, said in a statement.
Demetrius Minor, executive director of Conservatives Concerned, also welcomed the move. “We want to thank Governor Ivey for granting clemency for Charles ‘Sonny’ Burton,” he began. “This brings tremendous relief to his family and so many across the country. Conservatives know that government power can be abused and should not be used to execute someone who was not in the building when the murder was committed. Governor Ivey acted on these conservative principles."
For Burton and his family, the decision brings a yearslong fight over his case to a close.