Alabama criminal law holds that anyone involved in a robbery that ends in death can be convicted of murder, even if they did not pull the trigger.
“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.
However, she added it must be enforced “fairly and proportionately” to ensure its “continued viability”.
Burton’s case received national attention, with multiple social media campaigns and protests calling for clemency.
The daughter of the shooting victim, Tori Battle, who was nine when her father died, also voiced her support for Burton.
“I am a victim’s family member. My voice should matter”, she wrote in an op-ed for the Montgomery Advisor.
“My love for my father does not require another death, especially one that defies reason.”
DeBruce died in prison in 2020, six years after his death penalty sentence was reduced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
His death had a bearing on Ivey’s subsequent decision to commute Burton’s death sentence.
Ivey said in a statement she could not in “good conscience” allow Burton’s execution to proceed given the “disparate circumstances”.
“I believe it would be unjust for one participant in this crime to be executed while the participant who pulled the trigger was not.”
Alabama attorney general Steve Marshall criticised the decision, saying he believed Burton had Battle’s “blood on his hands”.
Marshall told NBC News, Burton did not deserve special treatment because of his age, arguing the execution could have taken place years earlier if Burton had not pursued repeated appeals.
Burton told CNN this week: “I didn’t kill no one, true enough, but I made a mistake by being part of the crime.”
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