MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama has scheduled a March execution date for a man sentenced to death for a fatal shooting during a 1991 robbery even though he didn’t pulled the trigger.

Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday set a March 12 execution using nitrogen gas for Charles “Sonny” Burton, 75. Burton was convicted as an accomplice in the shooting death of Doug Battle, a customer who was killed during an Aug. 16 robbery that year of an auto parts store in Talladega.

Burton did not shoot Battle and was not in the AutoZone 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.

A cross-section of people, including one of the victim’s children and some jurors, had urged the governor to consider clemency for Burton. They argued it would be unfair to execute Burton when the triggerman ended up receiving a lesser sentence.

“We are very disappointed that Governor Ivey has opted to set an execution date for Mr. Burton. But we hope and pray that she, like Oklahoma Governor Stitt did in November, still changes her mind and stops this unjust execution of a man who has never taken a life,” Matt Schulz, Burton’s attorney, said.

In the letter notifying the prison commissioner of the date, Ivey wrote that she has no current plans to grant clemency but maintains the authority to “grant a reprieve or commutation, if necessary, at any time before the execution is carried out.”

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office had opposed the clemency request. His office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

“Burton was convicted of capital murder in April 1992 and the jury unanimously recommended the death penalty. That conviction and sentence have been upheld at every level,” a spokesperson for the office said in an earlier statement.

Schulz noted that in seeking to uphold a death sentence for DeBruce, the state had argued in a 2015 court filing that its would be “arguably unjust” to affirm a death sentence for Burton but not the person who killed Battle.

Ivey has granted clemency once since taking office in 2017.

Governor Kay Ivey convened the first meeting of the Alabama Rural Health Transformation Advisory Group on Wednesday, the panel she created by executive order to guide policy for the state’s Rural Health Transformation Program.

The meeting follows the Trump administration’s notification that Alabama will receive $203,404,327 in first-year funding for the initiative.

“Today’s inaugural meeting is an important step toward implementation of our rural health strategy,” Ivey said. “The Trump administration has entrusted Alabama with significant funding to make generational reforms to an important but struggling portion of our health care system. We have an excellent group of legislators to help us be successful, and I am excited to see what they come up with.”

Advisory group members are House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger, Senator Greg Albritton, Senator Clyde Chambliss, Senator Donnie Chesteen, Senator Bobby Singleton, Representative Anthony Daniels, Representative Jamie Kiel, Representative Rex Reynolds and Representative Pebblin Warren.

During the session, members elected Chesteen chair and Kiel vice chair. Kenneth Boswell, director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs—the agency administering the program—outlined the initiative. Members then questioned Boswell and discussed timelines, processes and possible legislation to support implementation.

Ivey said she wants the group to craft policy changes that keep the program effective long after the federal money is spent.

“To turn around our rural health care system—to make it financially sustainable and available to deliver lifesaving care to all Alabamians—we must rethink how things have always been done,” she said. “That means thinking critically about policies, regulations and even the way health care providers operate.”

In her January 13 state of the state address, Ivey challenged health care leaders “to work with us in thinking outside the box and identifying new partners as we strive to improve health care in Alabama.”

Congress created the federal Rural Health Transformation Program in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Trump signed July 4, 2025.

Chesteen called the Alabama program “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to strengthen health care access in our rural communities.”

“By bringing together legislative leaders and health care stakeholders, we are positioning Alabama to make smart, sustainable reforms that will improve patient outcomes and ensure rural hospitals and providers can continue serving families across our state,” he said. “I look forward to working with Ivey and my colleagues to turn this historic investment into lasting results for the people of Alabama.”

The five-year, $50 billion federal program empowers states to improve rural health care access, quality and outcomes by transforming delivery systems, according to Ivey’s office.

Kiel said the initiative will guarantee “that every Alabamian, no matter where they live, has access to the quality care they deserve.”

“We want to build a stronger, healthier future for our rural communities and I am proud to support an initiative that ensures Alabama remains a great place to live, work and raise a family,” he said.

Alabama’s award-winning proposal, the Alabama Rural Health Transformation Program, outlines 11 targeted initiatives to improve health care delivery and patient outcomes in rural parts of the state.