By Jeff Devine, Dale County Chronicle
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Gov. Kay Ivey has scheduled the execution of Charles Lee Burton, a convicted killer in a 1991 AutoZone robbery murder, setting a 30-hour window for the sentence to be carried out beginning at 12 a.m. Thursday, March 12, 2026, and ending at 6 a.m. Friday, March 13, 2026, according to a death warrant letter sent this week to Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Q. Hamm.
In her Feb. 5 letter, Ivey said she has no current plans to grant clemency but retains constitutional authority to issue a reprieve or commutation before the execution is carried out if circumstances warrant. The Supreme Court of Alabama’s order authorizing the execution serves as the official death warrant.
Burton, who has spent more than three decades on death row at Holman Correctional Facility, was convicted in 1992 of capital murder for his role in the Aug. 16, 1991, robbery of an AutoZone store in Talladega County that resulted in the death of customer Doug Battle.
Charles Lee Burton has been sentenced to die. Ivey has ordered the AL Dept. of Corrections to proceed with his execution. Photo by ALDOC
According to trial testimony and appellate court records, Burton was not present inside the store at the time Battle was shot. Evidence presented at trial showed Burton participated in planning and carrying out the robbery but had exited the store moments before the fatal shooting occurred.
The gunman, Derrick DeBruce, shot Battle in the back while Battle was lying face down on the floor near the end of the robbery. Despite being identified as the triggerman, DeBruce was not ultimately executed. Although he initially received a death sentence, his sentence was later overturned on appeal. DeBruce, the one who killed Battle, was resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and later died while incarcerated. The fact that the actual murderer did not receive the death penalty while a robbery accomplice who was not even present at the time of the shooting received a sentence of death has outraged civil rights advocates and others from all backgrounds of life.
Under Alabama’s capital murder statute, individuals who knowingly participate in certain felonies, including robbery, may be sentenced to death if a killing occurs during the commission of the crime, even if they did not personally commit the murder. Prosecutors relied on that law to seek and obtain the death penalty against Burton.
A jury unanimously recommended the death sentence, and the trial judge imposed it. Burton’s conviction and sentence were upheld on direct appeal by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals and later affirmed by the Alabama Supreme Court. Subsequent appeals in state and federal courts have been unsuccessful.
The disparity between Burton’s sentence and the punishment imposed on the triggerman has drawn renewed scrutiny as the execution date approaches. Several jurors from Burton’s trial have publicly urged the governor to grant clemency, saying they would not have recommended death had they known the shooter would later receive a lesser sentence. Members of Battle’s family have also asked the state to spare Burton’s life.
Despite those appeals, Ivey’s letter makes clear the execution will proceed as scheduled unless further action is taken before the execution window begins.
If carried out, Burton’s execution would be among the first in Alabama in 2026. Alabama is frequently ranked in the top 5-6 states for its rate of executions per capita.
