A 75-year-old man who has never actually killed anyone is set to be executed in Alabama next week. Charles Lee ‘Sonny’ Burton has spent more than three decades on death row in The Yellowhammer State over a robbery that ended in murder being carried out by his accomplice. Unless Governor Kay Ivey steps in, the execution is scheduled to be carried out on Thursday, March 12. The case has drawn attention because the man who carried out the fatal shooting no longer faces the death penalty. Burton, meanwhile, looks set to be killed by the state. Unsurprisingly, the slated execution is causing some consternation and debate. (Picture: charlessonnyburton)
These days Burton uses a wheelchair and wears a padded helmet because he falls over so frequently. His health has deteriorated quite a lot with age, yet the execution date remains in place nonetheless. Although the state seems to be playing hardball over the issue, clemency from Alabama Governor Ivey (pictured) could still halt the process. However, during nearly a decade as state governor, Ivey has granted clemency just the once, The New York Times reports. (Picture: Getty Images)
The criminal case dates back to the summer of 1991. Burton (pictured) travelled with Derrick DeBruce and several others to an AutoZone store in Talladega. There, the men held up the place. Burton carried a gun throughout the robbery, although he didn’t use it, and took money from the store’s safe. At some point Burton left the building. DeBruce stayed behind where the situation turned deadly. (Picture: Alabama Department of Corrections)
DeBruce shot and killed Doug Battle in an altercation. Both DeBruce and Burton were later convicted of murder, despite Sonny Burton not being in the AutoZone at the time of the killing, and both initially sentenced to death. Prosecutors relied on a state law that allows accomplices to receive the death penalty if a killing happens during another serious crime, such as armed robbery. (Picture: Getty Images)
Years later DeBruce’s sentence changed. After appeals his death penalty conviction was overturned and replaced with life in prison without the possibility of parole. During the process the state of Alabama argued that such an outcome could lead to what it called an ‘arguably unjust’ result. That scenario would leave Burton on death row to be executed while the man who carried out the killing served a lesser sentence. That prediction is currently proving true. (Picture: Getty Images)
Sonny Burton’s execution method is expected to be somewhat unusual. There will be no injection. Or electricity. Or even firing squads. Instead, prison officials will use nitrogen gas for the execution. With nitrogen hypoxia, the prisoner is strapped to a gurney and a mask is fitted over the face. Nitrogen is then released which deprives the body of oxygen. Only a small number of states actually allow the method. Alabama became the first to carry out a nitrogen execution back in 2024. (Picture: Getty Images)
Death Penalty Information Center reports that several people connected to Burton’s trial have spoken out about the upcoming execution, including former jurors on the case and the victim’s daughter. Tori Battle – whose father Doug Battle was killed during the robbery – wrote an essay published last year titled ‘I lost my father to violence. Executing the wrong man won’t bring justice’. She says her view reflects the values her father lived by, stating that ‘justice can be measured by our commitment to truth and our willingness to show mercy’. A clemency petition has been set up to try and sway the governor’s position. (Picture: AP)Add as preferred source