Alabama Governor Commutes Death Sentence Of Black Man 2 Days Before Execution. Here’s Why
The governor of Alabama has commuted the death sentence of a Black man who participated in a robbery during which someone was shot and killed, but did not commit the shooting himself.
According to the Washington Post, on Tuesday, Gov. Kay Ivey revised the sentence of 75-year-old Charles “Sonny” Burton to life without parole after Burton spent three decades on death row and was sentenced to die two days after Ivey intervened.
From the Post:
Burton was convicted of capital murder for the 1991 shooting of Doug Battle during the robbery of an AutoZone store in Talladega, Alabama. Burton participated in the robbery but had left the building when an accomplice, Derrick DeBruce, shot and killed Battle inside, a witness testified at trial. DeBruce’s death sentence was eventually changed to life in prison.
So, the man who actually committed the killing after Burton had left the premises had already had his sentence commuted, which appeared to be the central reason for Ivey’s decision to grant the same to the accomplice who did not pull the trigger. In fact, Ivey said in a statement that while she believes “the death penalty is just punishment for society’s most heinous offenders,” she also believes “it would be unjust for one participant in this crime to be executed while the participant who pulled the trigger was not.”
It’s unclear why, if the shooter’s sentence had already been commuted, Burton was left facing the horror of certain death right up until two days before he was scheduled to be executed. After all, DeBruce, who died in prison in 2020, had his sentence overturned in 2014 — 12 years before Burton was granted the same — after a court agreed that he had received inadequate counsel. Burton’s attorney, Matt Schulz, told the Post Burton’s fate had seemed “almost hopeless,” and his family had already made funeral arrangements before learning that he had been spared.
Still, Schultz shared a statement from Burton, who said thanking the governor “doesn’t seem like much, but it’s what I can give her, and I do thank her.”
Not every Alabama official was thrilled about the decision, however.
“Longstanding Alabama law recognizes accomplice liability, as has every judge that has touched this case over three decades,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement. “There has never been any doubt that Sonny Burton has Douglas Battle’s blood on his hands.”
On the other hand, just because a law is “longstanding” doesn’t mean it’s right. Robbery isn’t the same crime as murder, and many would agree that the death penalty, at the very least, should be reserved for people who had the intent to kill and actually did the killing.
Even those who support the death penalty really need to ask themselves if it’s being used to foster justice or simple revenge. It’s easily arguable that Burton’s sentence was motivated by the latter.
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