Weekly Report from the Board Meeting at Holman Prison 3.18.26
At our meeting we continued to discuss last week’s great news of Charles “Sonny” Burton’s commutation, the many articles this had generated, the outpouring of support from supporters, including the Limestone County NAACP, and what this teaches us. Yes, it takes team work to make a dream work and as Tabitha Isner, Vice Chair of the Alabama Democratic Party and candidate for Senate District 26 wrote: “Congratulations to the passionate citizens of Alabama who 1) PAID ATTENTION to what was happening and had compassion for Sonny Burton, 2) saw themselves as powerful agents of change, and 3) used their power to SUCCESSFULLY pressure Governor Ivey to commute his sentence. This is what citizenship looks like.”
We appreciated being able to share from the Marshall Project: “Alabama Almost Executed Charles ‘Sonny’ Burton. His Daughter Tells Her Story.”
Four articles related to the good news which keeps it in perspective: “Alabama governor was 1 execution away from breaking a record. Instead she did the unexpected” and Whitmire: “We need to talk about Steve Marshall.” And “Catholic death penalty opponents laud commuted death sentence for inmate who didn’t pull trigger.” From Frank Brehany in south Wales: “ The Death Penalty: Joy from Death Row in Alabama.”The terse but welcome complexity arising from clemency.
The Attorney General has asked for a date for Jeffrey Lee. We will keep you updated. Meanwhile it is important to note that he has many powerful issues, including 7-5 jury override of the life without sentence for which the jury had voted and at the time of the crime an untreated TBI.
“Rocky Myers, once sent to Alabama death row, wants new trial, claims lawyer was tied to KKK”.” A Morgan County judge has ordered the district attorney’s office to respond to the petition by March 16, Keeton said. The court will then determine whether Myers’ conviction should be overturned and whether he will receive a new trial.”
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall who had sharply criticized the commutation of Charles Lee Burton’s sentence wants to end delays in decades-old capital murder cases and petitioned the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to force a ruling from federal district courts in four capital-punishment cases.
We thank all who are working so hard and diligently to stop all killing in Alabama! And as always in closing, we thank all our generous donors who either gave by going to our website and using the “donate” button or who gave directly. Thank you also to all who took the time to read our notes, commented, liked and shared them on Facebook. Stay safe and be kind to each other.
Esther
