The commutation drew sharp reaction, with Alabama’s attorney general calling it unjustified while Burton’s family, his attorney, and the daughter of the murder victim all supported it. The case turned on a question of proportionality: the man who pulled the trigger had his sentence overturned on appeal and died in prison, while the accomplice who had left the store before the shooting faced execution.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday commuted the death sentence of Charles “Sonny” Burton, a 75-year-old inmate who was scheduled to be executed by nitrogen gas later that week, even though he had left the building before his accomplice fired the shot that killed a customer during a 1991 robbery.

Ivey reduced Burton’s sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. It was only the second time the Republican governor has granted clemency to a death row inmate since taking office in 2017; she has presided over 25 executions.

“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.”

The governor said she “cannot proceed in good conscience with the execution of Mr. Burton under such disparate circumstances.”

The underlying case

Burton was convicted of capital murder for the 1991 shooting death of Doug Battle, a customer at an AutoZone auto parts store in Talladega. According to Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, Burton organized the robbery and held a gun to the store manager’s head before dividing the proceeds. But Burton had left the building before his co-defendant, Derrick DeBruce, shot and killed Battle.

Both men were convicted of capital murder. DeBruce’s sentence was later overturned on appeal; he was resentenced to life in prison and died in custody. Burton’s sentence stood.

Burton was at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore when he received news of the commutation. He uses a wheelchair. He had already submitted his final meal request and was working on a will to distribute his belongings when he was notified.

Matt Schulz, an assistant federal defender who represented Burton, said he was able to deliver the news in person.

“This was absolutely the right decision for the governor to make for any number of reasons,” Schulz said. “The biggest one is the fact that this dichotomy of executing a non-shooter who did not even see the shooting take place after the state itself had resentenced the shooter to life without parole.”

Reaction from Burton’s side

Burton’s daughter, Lois Harris, said through sobs during a telephone interview: “I’m just so happy, so happy. It’s just tears of joy.”

In a statement issued through his attorneys, Burton thanked the governor: “Just saying thank you doesn’t seem like much. But it’s what I can give her.”

The daughter of murder victim Doug Battle sent a letter to Ivey urging clemency, asking “how does it legally make sense” to execute Burton. Multiple jurors from Burton’s 1992 trial were also among those calling for his life to be spared.

Burton had told the Associated Press last month that no one was supposed to be injured in the robbery and that he did not learn anyone had been shot until the group was leaving the scene. “I didn’t know anything about nobody getting hurt until we were on the way back,” Burton said in that interview. He said he wants to apologize to Battle’s family: “I’m so sorry. If I had the power to bring him back, I would.”

Opposition

Attorney General Marshall sharply criticized the commutation. “There has never been any doubt that Sonny Burton has Douglas Battle’s blood on his hands,” Marshall said in a statement.

Ivey, who described herself as a firm believer in the death penalty as “just punishment for society’s most heinous offenders,” framed the commutation not as a rejection of capital punishment but as a demand that it be “administered fairly and proportionately.”

Broader context

Alice Marie Johnson, whom President Donald Trump designated as his “pardon czar” after commuting her sentence for federal drug and money laundering charges, praised Ivey on social media. She said the governor “showed what courageous and common sense leadership looks like” and that by commuting Burton’s sentence, “she ensured that justice — not technicalities — guides the most serious decision a state can make.”

Alabama began using nitrogen gas as an execution method in 2024. Burton had been scheduled to die Thursday night by that method.