A few days ago, I brought you the story of a man, Charles “Sonny” Burton, 75. He was due to be executed on Thursday for playing a role in the death of a robbery victim. He was in a car outside of the building and did not shoot the victim. But thanks to a legal doctrine called felony murder, anyone who participates in a felony act that results in death goes down for felony murder, regardless of intent.
It’s common sense, one would think. If you play a role in someone’s death, you should be punished harshly. Well, folks, Alabama’s governor has proven that common sense isn’t so common. That’s because today he commuted Burton’s sentence to life in prison without parole. That’s better than, say, letting him walk, but in this case, justice cried out for Burton’s execution.
“I cannot proceed in good conscience with the execution of Mr. Burton under such disparate circumstances,” the governor stated. Well, where was Burton’s good conscience on that terrible day? And for that matter, where’s the governor’s conscience. Oh, right, he doesn’t have one.
A true governor would have stayed out of it and would have let Burton face what would hopefully be a slow, botched and painful execution. Today, the governor slapped every one of the victim’s family members and all to score points with the voters, apparently.
The legal system spoke and today, the governor gave it the middle finger. Burton absolutely should be executed. Otherwise, the felony murder doctrine is forsaken. What Burton did was evil, vile and it demanded his death. Now, because of one slimeball, Burton has been rewarded rather than punished.