"Even though no one disputed that he was physically outside the AutoZone when the shooting happened, under Alabama's felony murder law, Burton was sentenced to death, too. In 2014, the state agreed to resentence DeBruce, the actual shooter, to life without parole. If Burton is executed on March 12, he will be the only person that Alabama executes for Battle's murder, since the actual triggerman was granted leniency."
"If someone dies while you're committing a felony crime, regardless of whether you had any intent to kill them or directly participated in their death, the law of felony murder says that you can be charged with first-degree murder. This law encompasses everyone involved in that felony, holding them equally responsible under a doctrine called accomplice liability."
"Felony murder allows for an incredibly broad net of culpability, yet it is law in most states. In one such case, a Florida man named Ryan Holle was sentenced to life in prison for lending his car keys to a friend who committed a robbery in which a woman was killed."
Charles "Sonny" Burton, a 75-year-old wheelchair user, faces execution in Alabama for a 1991 AutoZone robbery where he was physically outside the store when another robber, Derrick DeBruce, shot and killed a man named Doug Battle. Under Alabama's felony murder law, all six people involved in the robbery became eligible for the death penalty regardless of their direct participation in the killing. While DeBruce, the actual shooter, was resentenced to life without parole in 2014, Burton remains on death row. Felony murder law holds all participants in a felony equally responsible when a death occurs, regardless of intent or direct involvement. This doctrine of accomplice liability exists in most states and has resulted in cases like a Florida man sentenced to life for lending his car keys to a friend involved in a fatal robbery.
Read at Slate Magazine
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