Alabama | Petition with 60,000 Signatures Seeks Governor’s Clemency for Sonny Burton

With an execution scheduled in days and growing calls for mercy, a petition with more than 60,000 signatures is urging Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to grant clemency to death row prisoner Sonny Burton, whose case has drawn national attention because he did not personally commit the killing that led to his conviction.

Burton, 75, has spent more than three decades on Alabama’s death row and is scheduled to be executed March 12 at Holman Correctional Facility. Supporters argue his case raises serious questions about fairness under Alabama’s felony murder law.

A petition with over 60,000 signatures has urged Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to grant clemency to Burton ahead of his scheduled execution, according to a news release from the U.S. Campaign to End the Death Penalty.

The organization said supporters plan to deliver the petition signatures directly to the governor’s office during a demonstration in Montgomery on Monday morning.

According to the release, faith leaders, community members and Burton’s family will gather outside the Governor’s Mansion before marching to the Alabama State Capitol.

Organizers stated that the event will begin with a peaceful demonstration before transitioning into a 1.5-mile march intended to deliver the petitions to the governor’s office.

The demonstration is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m., with the march beginning at 8 a.m., according to the release.

The group said the petition signatures are expected to be delivered between approximately 8:40 and 9 a.m., and that Burton’s children will submit the petitions to the governor’s office during the event.

Faith leaders and community members are organizing the rally and march to call on Gov. Ivey to commute Burton’s death sentence to life without parole.

The event will conclude with a prayer led by local clergy members, including the Rev. R.K. Smith of Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church.

Burton was sentenced to death in 1992 in connection with a fatal shooting carried out by another man.

The release states that Burton was not present at the time of the shooting and did not personally commit the killing.

According to a March 5 New York Times opinion essay examining the case, Burton was convicted under Alabama’s felony murder law after a 1991 robbery at an AutoZone store in Talladega.

Burton carried a gun during the robbery but left the store before the victim was killed.

Another man involved in the robbery, Derrick DeBruce, remained in the store and shot the victim.

Both men were originally sentenced to death.

However, after appeals, DeBruce’s death sentence was overturned, and he was resentenced to life in prison without parole.

Burton has remained on death row for nearly 1/2 his life.

According to the essay, Burton now spends most of his days in a wheelchair and wears a padded helmet because he falls frequently.

The case has drawn attention because Burton did not directly commit the killing.

Under Alabama’s felony murder law, however, accomplices can receive the death penalty if a murder occurs during the commission of another felony, such as robbery.

According to Burton’s legal team, cited in the press release, supporters have argued that the difference in sentencing raises questions about fairness in Burton’s case.

In a statement included in the press release, Burton’s attorney, Matt Schulz, said many supporters believe the governor should intervene before the scheduled execution.

“More than 60,000 people agree that Governor Ivey should use her authority to save Sonny Burton because executing him for a killing he did not do, while the real killer received a lesser punishment, is an effort to our notion of fairness and justice.”

According to the press release, 6 of the 8 living jurors who served on Burton’s original trial have expressed support for commuting his sentence to life without parole.

The release also states that the victim’s daughter has urged Gov. Ivey to grant Burton clemency.

In a December essay referenced in the New York Times piece, Tori Battle wrote that executing Burton would not reflect the values her father lived by and called for mercy in the case.

If the execution proceeds, Burton will be put to death using nitrogen gas.

Alabama first used nitrogen gas as an execution method in 2024 after a previous lethal injection attempt failed when officials could not establish intravenous lines.

The method has drawn criticism from medical and legal experts.

The American Veterinary Medical Association has stated that nitrogen gas should not be used to euthanize most animals, raising concerns about its use in human executions.

Burton’s case also comes amid broader scrutiny of Alabama’s prison system.

A 2019 report by the U.S. Department of Justice documented widespread violence and unsafe conditions in the state’s prisons, citing overcrowding and severe staffing shortages.

Clemency decisions in Alabama are made by the governor.

According to the essay, Ivey has granted clemency only once during her time in office.

The delivery of the petition signatures represents a final push by Burton’s supporters to persuade the governor to grant clemency.

Organizers stated that they hope the demonstration will draw attention to Burton’s case in the days leading up to the scheduled execution.

Source: davisvanguard.org, Staff, March 8, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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