Alabama AG Reacts To Sonny Burton Clemency

Governor Kay Ivey’s decision to commute the death sentence of Sonny Burton is drawing a sharp response from Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.

Marshall released a statement criticizing the move and defending the jury’s original decision in the case tied to the death of Douglas Battle, a U.S. Army veteran.

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“I am deeply disappointed to learn that Governor Ivey has commuted the death sentence of Sonny Burton,” Marshall said, according to a statement from the attorney general’s office.

Marshall pushed back against portrayals of Burton as a harmless elderly man, saying the case involved a deadly armed robbery that Burton helped organize. According to the statement, Burton held a gun to a store manager’s head during the robbery and later divided the stolen money after Battle was killed.

Marshall also pointed to Burton’s criminal past and the decades long legal process that followed the conviction. He said jurors and judges who reviewed the case consistently upheld Burton’s responsibility under Alabama’s accomplice liability law.

“Burton does not deserve special treatment because he is old,” Marshall said in the statement. “He could have been executed a long time ago, but like many death row inmates, he chose to drag out his case through endless frivolous appeals.”

Marshall emphasized that he believes the punishment determined by the jury should have been carried out.

“I do not want today’s result to cause Alabamians to lose faith in our justice system,” Marshall added in the statement. “For as long as I am attorney general, I will not shy away from calling evil, evil and will do everything in my power to ensure that violence perpetrated against innocent Alabamians is punished mightily and without hesitation.”