Alabama Governor Kay Ivey spared 75-year-old death row convict Charles Burton, days before his scheduled execution. His sentence was commuted in a murder case from 1991. Ivey claimed that she could not proceed with Burton’s execution ‘in good conscience’. She changed it to life imprisonment without parole.
Burton’s execution was scheduled for his role in the murder case of Doug Battle during a robbery. However, when the murder actually occurred, Burton was not even present in the building. Burton was not the man who pulled the trigger. Pointing this out, Governor Kay Ivey said it would be unjust to impose the death sentence. The actual gunman had his sentence reduced already.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey commutes death sentence of 75-year-old Charles “Sonny” Burton to life imprisonment without parole. Burton, who spent over 30 years on death row, was scheduled for execution by nitrogen suffocation. https://t.co/ayU4hKD5Lo pic.twitter.com/9wxdT7zNdA
— Vanguard News Group (@DavisVanguard) March 12, 2026
Ivey, in her statement, mentioned, “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.”
Charles Burton’s death sentence had been signed off under Alabama’s felony murder law. Unlike the actual shooter, Derrick DeBruce, the former neither pulled the trigger nor witnessed the shooting.
Throughout the case’s proceedings, it was the victim Doug Battle’s daughter who begged for clemency on Burton’s behalf. Tori Battle urged the governor to extend grace and emphasised that her deceased father always valued peace over revenge. Her influence spread beyond the courtroom. Several advocacy groups also voiced support for the death row convict.
They argued that “putting a man to death who not only did not kill, but also did not encourage, participate in, nor even witness the shooting, and doing so after the shooter received a life sentence, indeed, represents an injustice.”
Additionally, six of the eight jurors in the case expressed their opposition to Burton’s death sentence. They supported his commutation. They also said they would have backed it sooner, had they known the actual shooter was no longer facing execution.
BREAKING: Alabama set to execute 75-year-old grandpa who never killed anyone under ‘felony murder’ doctrine!
Charles “Sonny” Burton, 75, has spent over 30 years on Alabama’s death row at Holman Correctional Facility for murder, a crime he did not commit.
No one disputes that… pic.twitter.com/GQ64IcGzKY
— Occupy Democrats (@OccupyDemocrats) March 8, 2026
As the rare decision by the Republican Alabama governor fetches attention, Charles Burton expressed his deepest gratitude for being granted clemency. He said, “Just saying thank you doesn’t seem like much. But it’s what I can give her.” He had spent more than 30 years on death row for a crime he did not commit.
Meanwhile, National Advocate Alice Marie Johnson praised the governor’s unique decision that spoke volumes about courageous and common-sense leadership. In a post on social media, she wrote, “Today, @governorkayivey showed what courageous and common-sense leadership looks like. By commuting the death sentence of Charles “Sonny” Burton, she ensured that justice—not technicalities—guides the most serious decision a state can make.”
Unfortunately, the decision by Governor Kay Ivey has also faced criticism. Alabama’s Attorney General criticised the commutation heavily. Steve Marshall argued that Burton was still a murderer with ‘blood on his hands’, as he opposed the decision.
