Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey has commuted the death sentence of Sonny Burton, who was set to be executed this week for a murder in which he didn't pull the trigger.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has commuted the death sentence of Charles "Sonny" Burton, who was not in the building when the victim was killed.

Had the execution gone forward, Burton would have faced a harsher punishment than the man who killed the victim during a botched robbery that Burton participated in.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey reduced Charles “Sonny” Burton’s sentence to life in prison without possibility of parole.

Burton was set to be executed on Thursday for his role in the 1991 death of a man during a robbery at AutoZone. However, Burton did not order the killing, nor did he pull the trigger, sparking a widespread debate.

Just days before his scheduled execution, Alabama death row inmate Charles “Sonny” Burton will now spend the rest of his life in prison after Governor Kay Ivey made the rare move Tuesday to commute his sentence.

Gov. Ivey has commuted the death sentence of Alabama death row inmate Charles “Sonny” Burton to life in prison without the possibility of parole, sparing him from a scheduled execution this week.

For just the second time, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has used her powers to order the commutation of a prisoner’s death sentence.