USA - Alabama. Gov. Ivey commutes Charles Burton’s death sentence

USA - Charles Burton (AL)

10 March 2026 :

March 10, 2026 - Alabama. Gov. Ivey commutes Charles Burton’s death sentence

On Tuesday, she removed Charles “Sonny” Burton from death row. He had been scheduled to be executed Thursday, March 12, by nitrogen gas.
The decision comes as Alabama’s use of nitrogen gas for executions has drawn national scrutiny and as critics question how fairly the death penalty is applied.
Now, Burton will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Burton, now 75, Black, was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1991 capital murder of Doug Battle in Talladega, though he was not the person who fired the shot that killed Battle.
Burton had previously sought clemency from Ivey. As late as Friday, March 6, her office said “at this time, as previously noted, Governor Ivey has no plans to grant clemency,” underscoring how recently the decision changed.
“A jury convicted Mr. Burton of capital murder and unanimously recommended a sentence of death. Over the past 33 years, his conviction and sentence has been reviewed at least nine times, and no court has found any reason to overturn the jury’s decision,” Gina Maiola, Gov. Ivey’s communications director, said Friday.
Ivey granted the commutation after she spoke with a representative of Battle’s family, which is required by law, as well as Alabama Attorney General Steven Marshall, who also supported Burton’s execution.
In a letter to Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm, Ivey said she supports capital punishment but argued it must be applied consistently.
“I firmly believe that the death penalty is just punishment for society’s most heinous offenders, as shown by the 25 executions I have presided over as governor,” Ivey wrote. “In order to ensure the continued viability of the death penalty, however, I also believe that a government’s most consequential action must be administered fairly and proportionately.”
Ivey noted that Derrick DeBruce, who was convicted of pulling the trigger in Battle’s killing, is serving life without parole.
DeBruce was originally given the death penalty, as well, but later saw it commuted.
“Charles Burton did not shoot the victim, did not direct the triggerman to shoot the victim and had already left the store by the time the shooting occurred,” Ivey’s letter said. “Yet Mr. Burton was set to be executed while DeBruce was allowed to live out his life in prison.”
Ivey emphasized that the commutation does not lessen Burton’s responsibility.
“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,” she wrote. “He will now receive the same punishment as the triggerman.”
The decision follows growing public pressure over Burton’s planned execution.
Protestors gathered outside the governor’s mansion in Montgomery on Monday to urge Ivey to spare Burton’s life. A petition with 67,000 signatures to halt the execution was also delivered to Ivey’s office.
Battle’s daughter, Tori Battle, had publicly said she did not want to see Burton’s death sentence carried out.
A clemency petition said six of the eight living jurors from the 1992 trial did not oppose commutation, and three actively urged that Burton’s sentence be reduced.
Ivey, who has served as governor for almost 10 years, has commuted just one other death sentence. That happened in Feb. 2025 in the case of Robin D. “Rocky” Myers.
In that case, Ivey cited “too many questions” and that the case was “riddled with conflicting evidence from seemingly everyone involved.”
Myers’ sentence was also reverted to life without parole.