“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image.”
“The sacrifice acceptable to Godis a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
The time is set. A man is now scheduled to die for his complicity in the crime of murder.
At the stroke of midnight, March 12, 2026, a 30-hour window will open, whereby the state of Alabama will put Charles Lee “Sonny” Burton to death with nitrogen gas as retribution for his involvement as an accomplice in the 1991 murder of Doug Battle.
Burton’s life now rests in the hands of Gov. Kay Ivey.
“Although I have no current plans to grant clemency in this case,” Ivey said in a statement upon setting the execution date for Burton, “I retain my authority under the Constitution of the State of Alabama to grant a reprieve or commutation, if necessary, at any time before the execution is carried out.”
What more solemn authority does a governor possess than to choose the mercy of life or let fall the justice of death?
I cannot begin to fathom the weight of such a decision.
Yet, for all who look at this case, that is what we must do. We must place ourselves in the governor’s shoes, weighing not only the facts of the case but bearing the cross of such authority, whether or not we approve of her final decision.
I am not one to disapprove of the death penalty in principle. The sword of authority does not fall in vain.
I truly believe that if a man commits certain crimes and sins against God and men then his life is forfeit – that death is not only just retribution for the victims of his crimes but a means of setting right the moral order and the common good in pursuit of God’s will.
Indeed, I support the death penalty in principle, not only for murders, but for the “worst of the worst” who would prey upon innocent children.
That said, if I were Alabama’s governor, I would not put Burton to death. I would grant him the mercy of spending the rest of his life in prison so that he may have a further chance to offer up a broken spirit before God.
Perhaps, if you were Alabama’s governor, you would choose differently.
Perhaps, Ivey will as well.
Burton, now 75, did not spill Battle’s blood in 1991.
He did plan and participate in the robbery of a Talladega AutoZone along with five accomplices that day, but he did not pull the trigger. In fact, Burton did not even witness Battle’s tragic shooting with his own eyes.
All six men involved in the robbery were indicted for capital murder. Most pled down to lesser charges, avoiding the death penalty, while Burton and the man who pulled the trigger, the man who did spill Battle’s blood – Derrick DeBruce – received death sentences.
DeBruce is now dead, but not from the sword of any earthly authority.
Before his death in 2020, DeBruce’s sentence was commuted to life without parole by the state of Alabama after a federal court overturned the triggerman’s initial death sentence in 2014.
That DeBruce no longer faced the suffocating fog of a death sentence in his remaining six years on earth – yet Burton now faces death by nitrogen gas in just 16 days for the same underlying crime – strikes me as arguably unjust.
That the man who killed Battle was spared the death penalty while the man who did not even witness the murder still faces capital punishment cries out for mercy.
Again – though I can only imagine the weight of authority in this matter – if I were governor, I would not put Burton to death. Again, I would grant him the mercy of spending the rest of his life in an Alabama prison so that he may have a further chance to offer up a broken and contrite heart as acceptable sacrifice before God.
That said, there is much more to Burton’s petition for clemency that might sway others who are not moved simply by this sentencing disparity.
For instance, six of the eight living jurors from the case have no issue with the commutation of Burton’s sentence to life without parole.
Moreover, Battle’s own daughter, Tori (who was nine years old at the time of her father’s murder) is asking for the governor to show grace to Burton.
For more of the argument in favor of clemency for Burton, I recently interviewed Assistant Federal Defender Matt Schulz on my radio show, who has represented “Sonny” for over 17 years.
The time has been set.
A man is now scheduled to die for his complicity in the crime of murder.
So, as Alabama awaits the decision of the governor, I will pray for Ivey, not to sway her will to my own – but that she may carry the sword of authority as a cross – with wisdom and fortitude to do God’s will as one so made in His image.
Joey Clark is a native Alabamian and is currently the host of the radio program News and Views on News Talk 93.1 FM WACV out of Montgomery, AL, M-F 12 p.m. - 3 p.m. His column appears every Tuesday in 1819 News. To contact Joey for media or speaking appearances, as well as any feedback, please email [email protected]. Follow him on X @TheJoeyClark or watch the radio show livestream.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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