Alabama Schedules Execution Date for Man Convicted in 1991 Killing, Despite Not Firing the Fatal Shot
Alabama has set a date for the execution of Charles "Sonny" Burton, a 75-year-old man sentenced to death for his role in a 1991 robbery that resulted in a fatal shooting, despite not being the one who pulled the trigger.
On Thursday, Governor Kay Ivey announced that Burton's execution will take place on March 12, utilizing nitrogen gas as the method. Burton was convicted as an accomplice in the death of Doug Battle, who was shot during an armed robbery at an auto parts store in Talladega on August 16, 1991.
Notably, Burton was not present in the store during the shooting. Prosecutors characterized him as the mastermind behind the robbery, leading to a death sentence recommendation. The actual shooter, Derrick DeBruce, also received a death sentence but had it commuted to life imprisonment and subsequently died while incarcerated.
A diverse group, including family members of the victim and several jurors from the original trial, has urged Governor Ivey to reconsider clemency for Burton. They argue that executing Burton is unjust when the individual who fired the gun received a lesser punishment.
"We are very disappointed that Governor Ivey has opted to set an execution date for Mr. Burton," stated Matt Schulz, Burton's attorney. "But we hope and pray that she, like Oklahoma Governor Stitt did in November, still changes her mind and stops this unjust execution of a man who has never taken a life."
In her letter to the prison commissioner regarding the execution date, Ivey indicated she currently has no plans to grant clemency but retains the authority to "grant a reprieve or commutation, if necessary, at any time before the execution is carried out."
The Alabama Attorney General's office opposed the clemency request. A spokesperson emphasized that Burton was convicted of capital murder in April 1992 and that the jury unanimously recommended the death penalty, a decision upheld at all judicial levels.
Schulz pointed out that in a 2015 court filing, the state argued it would be "arguably unjust" to uphold a death sentence for Burton while not doing so for DeBruce, who actually committed the murder.
Since taking office in 2017, Ivey has granted clemency only once. According to the clemency petition, six of the eight living jurors from Burton's trial do not oppose commutation; three have explicitly requested it, stating they would not have recommended a death sentence had they known the shooter would receive a lesser penalty.
"It's absolutely not fair. You don't execute someone who did not pull the trigger," Priscilla Townsend, one of those jurors, expressed in a phone interview.
Reflecting on her decision during an emotionally charged trial, Townsend acknowledged her belief in the death penalty "for the worst of the worst," but asserted that Burton does not fit that description.
In an essay published last month titled "I sentenced a man to die in Alabama. I was wrong," Townsend shared her long-standing reflections on Burton's trial and its implications.
"Mr. Burton was not inside the AutoZone at the time of the murder. He was not the shooter, and yet the state sought and secured a death sentence against him anyway," she wrote. "At the time, I did not fully understand what that meant. I do now."
Townsend also recounted how prosecutors portrayed Burton as the "ringleader," a characterization that influenced how jurors perceived evidence and assigned responsibility throughout the trial.
"It shaped how the evidence was viewed, how responsibility was assigned, and how punishment was justified," she noted. "I believed it. The jury believed it. I no longer believe it was true."
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, twenty-seven states permit executions for individuals involved in felonies that lead to someone's death, even if they did not directly kill anyone themselves.
