Opponents of capital punishment in the U.S. are talking “next steps” after what Governor Kay Ivey did this week. The Governor commuted the death sentence of Charles Burton. He’ll remain in prison without the chance of parole. Burton didn’t shoot the victim during a 1991 robbery. But, his conviction for felony murder meant he faced the death penalty tonight. Laura Porter is with the U.S. Campaign to end the death penalty. She says the next step to going after the felony murder law that put Burton on death row.
“I think that is a goal for many advocates across the country in this in the few states that do allow capital prosecutions for felony murder cases, Texas is one of them, there's been a growing effort in the legislature there to end it there,” she said.
People in Porter’s orbit are still buzzing over what happened in Alabama this week.. He was within two days of death by nitrgoen hypoxia for the shooting death at a Talladega county AutoZone store. That’s until Ivey had a rare change of heart. Porter with the U.S Campaign to end the death penalty says Alabama’s Governor has never stopped scheduled execution once it was scheduled.
“I can’t overstate how big this is. This is not something that Governor Ivey has done when execution has been scheduled. She does have one commutation and twenty five executions,” Porter observed.
Ivey commuted Charles “Sonny” Burton's death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Burton, 75, was convicted of capital murder for the shooting death of Doug Battle during a 1991 robbery. Another man, Derrick DeBruce, shot Battle after Burton had left the building. The shooting occurred August 16, 1991, during a robbery at an AutoZone auto parts store in Talladega. Doug Battle, a 34-year-old Army veteran and father of four, was shot and killed after entering the store during the robbery.
Before they went inside, Burton said if anyone caused trouble in the store that he would “take care of it,” according to testimony. As the robbery was ending, Battle entered the store. He threw his wallet down, got onto the floor and exchanged words with DeBruce.
LaJuan McCants, who was 16 at the time, testified that Burton and others had left the store before DeBruce shot Battle in the back.
A jury convicted DeBruce and Burton of capital murder and both were sentenced to death. During closing arguments, a prosecutor argued Burton was “just as guilty as Derrick DeBruce, because he’s there to aid and assist him.” Prosecutors pointed to the statement about handling trouble as evidence that Burton was the robbery leader. Burton's attorneys have disputed that he was the leader.
DeBruce had his death sentence overturned on appeal after a court agreed that he had ineffective counsel. DeBruce was resentenced to life imprisonment and later died in prison.
Ivey said she “cannot proceed in good conscience with the execution of Mr. Burton” when the triggerman had his sentence reduced to life imprisonment.
“I believe it would be unjust for one participant in this crime to be executed while the participant who pulled the trigger was not,” Ivey said in a statement. "To be clear, Mr. Burton will not be eligible for parole and will rightfully spend the remainder of his life behind bars for his role in the robbery that led to the murder of Doug Battle. He will now receive the same punishment as the triggerman."
It is only the second time the Republican governor, who has presided over 25 executions, has granted clemency to a person on death row.
“The murder of Doug Battle was a senseless and tragic crime, and this decision does not diminish the profound loss felt by the Battle family. I pray that they may find peace and closure," Ivey said.
The governor's decision drew a mix of praise and criticism. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he was “deeply disappointed” in the action and said he believes Burton's execution should have gone forward. Marshall said Burton organized the armed robbery that led to Battle's death. He said “longstanding Alabama law recognizes accomplice liability, as has every judge that has touched this case over three decades.”
“There has never been any doubt that Sonny Burton has Douglas Battle’s blood on his hands," Marshall said.
Alice Marie Johnson, whom President Donald Trump had tapped last year as his “pardon czar,” praised Ivey. She said the governor “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,” Johnson wrote on social media.
Other Republican governors have granted clemency where there were concerns the person scheduled to be executed was the less culpable defendant. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt last year commuted the sentence of Tremane Wood to life, matching the sentence of his brother who confessed to the murder.
Burton will now be moved off of Alabama's death row, where he has been imprisoned since 1992. However, it is unclear when that will happen. A spokesperson for the Alabama Department of
Corrections did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
Burton will spend the rest of his life in prison since he doesn't have the possibility of parole.
