By Jeff Devine, Dale County Chronicle.
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday commuted the death sentence of Charles L. Burton to life in prison without the possibility of parole, just days before he was scheduled to be executed for his role in the 1991 robbery and killing of Doug Battle in Talladega. This was only the second time in Ivey’s tenure as Governor that she chose to exercise her clemency powers while overseeing 25 executions during her time in office.
Burton had been scheduled to be executed during a 30-hour window beginning at 12 a.m. Thursday, March 12, and ending at 6 a.m. Friday, March 13, after the Alabama Supreme Court authorized the execution earlier this year. The court’s order served as the death warrant, and Ivey had previously directed the Alabama Department of Corrections to carry out the sentence within that timeframe.
Instead, the governor announced Tuesday that she had commuted Burton’s sentence after concluding it would be unjust for him to be executed while the man who fired the fatal shot received a lesser punishment.
“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,” Ivey said in a statement. “In order to ensure the continued viability of the death penalty, however, I also believe that a government’s most consequential action must be administered fairly and proportionately.”
Burton was convicted in 1992 of capital murder in connection with the Aug. 16, 1991 robbery of an AutoZone store in Talladega County. During the robbery, customer Doug Battle was shot and killed.
Court records show Burton participated in the robbery but was not the triggerman and was not inside the store when the shooting occurred. According to trial testimony, Burton had already left the store moments before Battle was shot.
The gunman, Derrick DeBruce, shot Battle in the back while Battle was lying on the floor near the end of the robbery. DeBruce was initially sentenced to death, but his sentence was later overturned on appeal and he was resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He later died while incarcerated.
The difference in sentences between Burton and the triggerman ultimately played a key role in Ivey’s decision.
“Doug Battle was brutally murdered by Derrick DeBruce while shopping in an auto parts store,” Ivey said. “But DeBruce was ultimately sentenced to life without parole. Charles Burton did not shoot the victim, did not direct the triggerman to shoot the victim, and had already left the store by the time the shooting occurred. Yet Mr. Burton was set to be executed while DeBruce was allowed to live out his life in prison.”
“I cannot proceed in good conscience with the execution of Mr. Burton under such disparate circumstances,” she added. “I believe it would be unjust for one participant in this crime to be executed while the participant who pulled the trigger was not.”
Under Alabama law, a person can be convicted of capital murder and face the death penalty if a killing occurs during certain felonies, including robbery, even if the defendant did not personally carry out the killing. Prosecutors relied on that statute in Burton’s case.
A jury unanimously recommended a death sentence during Burton’s 1992 trial, and the trial judge imposed it. His conviction and sentence were upheld on direct appeal by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals and later affirmed by the Alabama Supreme Court. Burton’s case then moved through decades of state and federal appeals.
As required by law, Ivey said she contacted a representative of Battle’s family before issuing the commutation and also notified the Alabama attorney general.
“To be clear, Mr. Burton will not be eligible for parole and will rightfully spend the remainder of his life behind bars for his role in the robbery that led to the murder of Doug Battle,” Ivey said. “He will now receive the same punishment as the triggerman.”
“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,” she added. “I pray that they may find peace and closure.”
Ivey also expressed gratitude to the Alabama Attorney General’s Capital Litigation Division for its work over the years defending Burton’s conviction and sentence in court.
The commutation marks the second time Ivey has used her clemency powers as governor. On Feb. 28, 2025, she commuted the death sentence of Rocky Myers to life in prison without the possibility of parole after citing lingering questions about his guilt in the 1991 murder of Ludie Mae Tucker in Decatur.
With the commutation, Burton will remain incarcerated for the rest of his life at an Alabama Department of Corrections facility without the possibility of parole.
