Alabama Governor commutes death sentence of man who killed no one

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has granted clemency to death row inmate Charles “Sonny” Burton, days was to be executed through the tortuous method of nitrogen hypoxia. Burton, 75, was convicted of capital felony murder in a 1991 robbery of an AutoZone in Talladega. The felony murder charge allows accomplices to a crime that results in a death to be charged with murder, even if they did not commit the murder.

Burton has admitted to being part of the robbery which resulted in the death of Doug Battle, a customer who entered the store while the robbery was underway. It was one of Burton’s accomplices, Derrick DeBruce, who actually gunned down battle. At the time that confrontation took place, Burton was already outside of the store near the getaway vehicle. DeBruce was also initially sentenced to death, but an appeals court later overturned this sentence after finding he had received ineffective counsel at trial. DeBruce instead received a life sentence and died in prison in 2020.

Over the years, there have been growing calls for clemency in Burton’s case. Those who have voiced support for mercy in Burton’s case include several of the jurors at his initial trial, and Tori battle, the victim’s daughter, who was 9 years old when her father was killed. Tori Battle recently published an op-ed in the Montgomery Advertiser calling on Gov. Ivey to spare Burton’s life.