Governor Commutes Burton's Death Sentence

0:00In Birmingham, it's March 10th, and here's what is going on. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey commuted the death sentence of 75-year-old Charles Lee Burton to life in prison without parole. Burton faced execution on Thursday by nitrogen hypoxia for his role in a 1991 murder during an armed robbery at an auto zone store in Talladega, Alabama. Burton organized the robbery with five other men. They held up the store, an army veteran Douglas Battle, a customer there, was shot in the lower back and killed by one accomplice. Burton held a gun to the store manager's head and later split the stolen cash. Attorney General Steve Marshall sharply criticized Ivey's move in the news release. He called Burton a career criminal and murderer, responsible for battle's death under accomplice liability laws upheld for decades. Marshall rejected pleas for mercy based on Burton's age or poor health. Burton was the only co-defendant on death row. The shooter got life after an appeal and died in 2020.

1:02Now wheelchair bound with rheumatoid arthritis and frequent falls, Burton had delayed his case through years of appeals. Meanwhile, as Marshall runs for a U.S. Senate seat this November, he vowed to keep fighting for justice and called on Alabamians not to lose faith in. The system despite the governor's decision, the daily news now is made possible with support from our sponsor. It is a pillow that plays your podcast and music without earbuds, built for listening in bed, s-o-l-i-soli-pillo.com.