Vigil held outside Alabama Governor’s Mansion to plead for clemency for death row inmate
A vigil was held last night outside of the Alabama Governor’s Mansion asking for clemency for a man on death row.
Charles “Sonny” Burton is set to be executed by nitrogen gas on March 12 for a murder during a 1991 armed robbery. He is 75 years old.
As CBS News reports, Burton was convicted as an accomplice in the shooting death of Doug Battle, a customer who was killed during a robbery at an auto parts store in Talladega.
Burton did not shoot Battle and was not in the store at the time of the fatal shooting. However, prosecutors depicted him as the ringleader of the robbery and sought a death sentence for him. Derrick DeBruce, the man who fired the gun, also was sentenced to death but later had his sentence reduced to life imprisonment and died in prison.
The people gathered outside the Governor’s Mansion held signed and listened to speakers as they spoke about Burton and the death penalty.
Watch the video above to see more from their vigil.
