Gov. Kay Ivey commuted the sentence of Sonny Burton, whose execution had been set for March 12
Credit: Kim Chandler/AP Photo
An Alabama man convicted of murder despite having fled the scene of the crime before the trigger was pulled will no longer be put to death.
Gov. Kay Ivey announced on Tuesday that she would spare the life of Sunny Burton, commuting his sentence and taking him off death row.
Burton was set to be executed on March 12 using nitrogen gas to cut off oxygen to the body — a process unique to the state.
In issuing just her second commutation since she assumed office in 2017, Ivey noted the fact that Burton was set to die for his crime even though the actual gunman was not.
Credit: ALABAMA GOVERNOR OFFICE HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
In 1991, Burton masterminded the robbery of an AutoZone during which one of his accomplices killed a man, according to a copy of his petition for a writ of certiorari obtained by PEOPLE.
Burton, now 75, was convicted of felony murder in 1992 and sentenced to death.
Derek DeBruce, the accomplice who shot a man dead, was also sentenced to death, but in 2014 the state resentenced him to life in prison after he successfully challenged his conviction on the grounds of ineffective counsel.
"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 announcing her decision.
Prosecutors were able to seek the death penalty against Burton by using the legal doctrine known as felony murder, which holds that all individuals involved in an felonious endeavor are equally responsible for any fatal incidents.
Some of the same jurors who condemned Burton to death have since questioned their own decision and publicly backed the effort to get him off death row.
"If Charles Manson can get a life sentence for leading his group to kill many people, it is fair for Mr. Burton to serve life without parole in prison,” said Charles Johnson, one of the jurors.
The decision by the Republican governor to commute Burton's sentence came as a bit of a surprise, as she had not addressed the issue in recent weeks and has long been in favor of the death penalty.
"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 said.
Among sitting governors, only Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has presided over more executions during his time in office, though both fall well short of the 234 executions that Rick Perry, the former governor of Texas, presided over during his 11 years in office.
Credit: Kim Chandler/AP Photo
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Burton reacted to the news and thanked Ivey in a brief statement released through his lawyer.
“She has proven to the people of Alabama, and the world, that she is a responsible Governor. And I thank her,” wrote Burton. “Just saying thank you doesn’t seem like much. But it’s what I can give her. And I do thank her. Thank you, Governor.”
On Aug. 16, 1991, Burton and five other men set out to rob a store in Montgomery, ultimately settling on an AutoZone.
One of the men, LuJuan McCants, would later say that Burton "organized the criminal activity and…told the others what to do during the robbery,” according to the petition.
Burton, DeBruce and McCants all entered the store armed with firearms, the petition says. Once inside, Burton made a purchase and then asked to use the bathroom, at which point DeBruce pulled out his weapon and ordered everyone to the floor.
Burton then pointed his gun at the store manager, the petition said, and instructed him to empty out the safe.
Once that task was complete, Burton exited the store while DeBruce argued with a customer who entered mid-robbery after the man struggled to get to the floor as ordered by the gunman, according to the petition.
DeBruce then walked over to that man, Douglas Battle, knocked him to the ground and fatally shot him in the back.
Ivey made note of Battle too in her statement, saying: “The murder of Doug Battle was a senseless and tragic crime, and this decision does not diminish the profound loss felt by the Battle family. I pray that they may find peace and closure.”
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