Man on Death Row Insists He Didn't Pull Trigger, Execution Under Felony Murder Law Hit

Charles "Sonny" Burton has never killed anyone but was involved in a robbery of a store in Talladega in 1991. He was one of six men involved in the heist. However, the theft case was worsened after one customer, Doug Battle, was murdered during that robbery.

Burton was not the one who killed Battle. Rather, it was one of his accomplices known as Derrick DeBruce. He was the one who shot the 34-year-old in the back. So where was Burton?

Sonny was not in the store when the shooting happened. He did take some cash from a safe located in the back room but immediately went out and waited in the group's getaway car.

But in a surprising twist, Burton was accused of felony murder. He has spent more than 30 years on death row and is scheduled to be executed on Thursday, 12 March, in Alabama. He maintains his innocence and reiterated that he did not kill anyone, NBC News reported.

'I shouldn't die for something I haven't done,' Burton said in a phone interview from the William C. Holman Correctional Facility. 'I didn't know a murder was going to happen. I would have stopped that,' he added.

Why Burton Took the Fall

Although he was not responsible for the death of Battle, Burton fell under a legal doctrine known as felony murder. Under this, prosecutors can treat anyone involved in the crime as responsible for a murder that happened in cases that include burglary or robbery according to Find Law.

'Felony murder allows for everybody involved in the underlying offence to be treated by the legal system as if they committed an intentional murder,' Nazgol Ghandnoosh, director of research at The Sentencing Project, opined.

Unfortunately, prosecutors ended up singling out Burton as the leader of the group. The 75-year-old debates that claim and maintains his innocence.

DeBruce Got Off Easy

As for the man who was allegedly behind the murder of Battle, DeBruce's fate was different. Initially sentenced to death, he ended up getting a lighter punishment after a court ruling. This was after his attorney provided ineffective representation during the penalty phase of his trial.

Burton did not hide his disappointment over how the alleged true murderer got off. However, he later explained that despite all that, he was able to forgive DeBruce.

'He got me with my life for something stupid that he did,' Burton said. 'But I forgave him.'

With his days numbered, many have made calls to spare the life of Burton – including some jurors from his 1992 trial. Supporters and family members have urged Gov. Kay Ivey to consider Burton's clemency. Unless a sudden order is handed out by Ivey, the controversial legal doctrine stands, the Associated Press reported.

'A jury convicted Mr Burton of capital murder and unanimously recommended a sentence of death. Over the past 33 years, his conviction and sentence have been reviewed at least nine times, and no court has found any reason to overturn the jury's decision,' Gina Maiola, the spokesperson for Ivey stated.

Unless an intervention happens in the next couple of days, Burton will be executed by nitrogen gas on Thursday. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, people killed by nitrogen gas die within 15 to 40 minutes after it is carried out.