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In a rare act of clemency that halted an imminent execution, the Alabama man fatal shooting death sentence tied to a decades-old robbery case has been reduced to life behind bars.

On Tuesday, Kay Ivey announced she was commuting the death sentence of Charles Sonny Burton, a 75-year-old prisoner who had been scheduled for execution later this week.

Instead of facing lethal punishment, Burton will now serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The decision marks only the second time since taking office in 2017 that the Republican governor has granted clemency to someone on death row.

Robbery That Turned Deadly

Burton was originally sentenced to death for the 1991 fatal shooting of customer Doug Battle during a robbery at an AutoZone store in Talladega.

According to court records, Burton was involved in the robbery but was not inside the building when the fatal shot was fired.

Another man, Derrick DeBruce, carried out the shooting that killed Battle inside the store.

Prosecutors argued during the trial that Burton played a leading role in orchestrating the robbery, portraying him as a central figure behind the crime even though he had left the store before the killing occurred.

Under Alabama law at the time, prosecutors secured Burton’s conviction as an accomplice to capital murder.

Diverging Sentences Raise Questions

Both Burton and DeBruce were initially convicted of capital murder.

However, the two cases eventually took sharply different paths.

DeBruce’s death sentence was overturned on appeal, and he was later resentenced to life in prison. He ultimately died while serving that sentence behind bars.

Burton, meanwhile, remained on death row for decades, awaiting execution.

The contrast between the two outcomes weighed heavily on the governor’s decision.

Governor Cites Fairness in Rare Clemency

Ivey said she continues to support the death penalty in principle, describing it as “just punishment for society’s most heinous offenders.”

But she emphasized that the punishment must be carried out fairly and proportionately.

Given the disparity between the two defendants’ sentences, she said she could not move forward with Burton’s execution.

“I cannot proceed in good conscience with the execution of Mr. Burton under such disparate circumstances,” the governor said in her statement.

A Rare Intervention

The decision represents an extraordinary moment in Alabama’s modern death penalty system.

Since taking office, Ivey has overseen 25 executions, making acts of clemency exceptionally uncommon.

Her move effectively closes a chapter that has stretched across more than three decades of legal proceedings and appeals.

For Burton, who has spent much of his life awaiting the state’s ultimate punishment, the governor’s decision transforms an approaching execution into a permanent prison sentence — a dramatic shift in a case long shadowed by questions about fairness and accountability.