Alabama Governor Grants Mercy to Murder Convict Who Waited 33 Years for Execution

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has commuted the sentence of a murder convict who is set to be executed on 12 March.

Sunny Burton, 75, was sentenced to death in 1992 after being convicted of felony murder. Gov. Ivey confirmed on 10 March that Burton's life would be spared after spending 33 years on death row.

Ivey ruled that Burton was sentenced to die for a crime he did not technically commit. He was scheduled to be executed by gas chamber on March 12.

Victim Murdered During Robbery Gone Horribly Wrong

Burton led the robbery of an AutoZone store in 1991. Shortly after he fled the scene, one of his five accomplices, Derek DeBruce, shot and killed a customer. Both Burton and DeBruce were given the death penalty after conviction.

One of Burton's accomplices, LuJuan McCants, stated that Burton 'organised the criminal activity and...told the others what to do during the robbery.' The group had robbed the store and was about to leave when an argument broke out between DeBruce and Douglas Battle, a customer.

DeBruce knocked Battle to the floor and shot him in the back. Burton had left the store at that point.

Victim's Killer Escapes Death Row

Prosecutors managed to pin the sentence on Burton through a charge of felony murder, according to court documents obtained by People. The charge stipulates that Burton was equally responsible for the killing because he was involved in the robbery that precipitated the murder.

DeBruce disputed his conviction on grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel. He prevailed, and his sentence was reduced to life in prison. Burton remained on death row.

'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 stated. It's her second career commutation after assuming the position in 2017.

Ivey hopes the victim's family will come to terms with the decision. '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.'

'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,' she asserted.

Commuted Sentence Embraced by Convict, Jurors

Ivey's ruling is consistent with some of the jurors who sentenced Burton to death during his trial. They have since supported the commutation. '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,' Charles Johnson, one of the jurors, told People.

'[Ivey] has proven to the people of Alabama, and the world, that she is a responsible Governor. And I thank her,' Burton responded through his lawyer. '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.'

83 people have been executed in Alabama since the U.S. reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The state has since had the fifth highest number of executions in the country. Texas is first at almost 600, followed by Oklahoma, Virginia, Florida, and Missouri.