Texas and Alabama: One execution (Cedric Ricks) and one pardon (Charles “Sonny” Burton)
Two executions were scheduled in the US this week. Cedric Ricks was executed in Texas on Wednesday. Charles Burton, who was scheduled to die by nitrogen hypoxia in Alabama on Thursday, was pardoned by the governor and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Cedric Ricks in Texas
On Wednesday evening, 51-year-old Cedric Ricks was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas. He was sentenced to death for stabbing his partner and her eight-year-old son to death in a dispute in May 2013. The twelve-year-old brother survived with serious injuries. The nine-month-old baby he had with his victim was unharmed.
In his last words, Ricks expressed his remorse in tears and with a broken voice, especially to the then 12-year-old: “I want to apologize for taking Roxann and Anthony away from you. I can hardly imagine how much pain I have caused you, and I am glad that I can tell you this in person.
And to Marcus: I have always thought of you, and I am sorry that I took your mother and brother away from you. I hate that you had to go through this; I am truly sorry for what I did, and I wish you all as much peace and joy as possible, but I am sorry, that is all I can say.”
Ricks’ lawyers had argued unsuccessfully before the U.S. Supreme Court that prosecutors had excluded jurors based on their skin color, which violated his constitutional rights.
Ricks had made it easy for the jury in the original trial: he told the jurors who were to decide his fate that he wanted to die. “I wish I could bring them back,” he said in court. “But I can’t make it up to them… I don’t want everyone to look at me like I’m a monster. I’ve tried to kill myself two or three times, but I can’t even do that right.”
Charles “Sonny” Burton in Alabama
For the second time, Kay Ivey, the governor of the US state of Alabama, has commuted a prisoner’s death sentence. On Tuesday, she released Charles “Sonny” Burton from death row. He was scheduled to be executed by nitrogen gas on Thursday. The decision comes at a time when the use of nitrogen gas for executions in Alabama is causing a nationwide stir, with critics questioning the fairness of the application of the death penalty. Burton will now spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Burton, now 75, was convicted of murder in 1991 and sentenced to death, even though he was not the one who shot the victim. Ivey granted the clemency after speaking with a representative of the victim’s family, as required by law. In a letter to the head of the Alabama Department of Corrections, Ivey stated that she supports the death penalty but that it must be applied consistently.
“I firmly believe that the death penalty is a just punishment for society’s most heinous offenders, as evidenced by the 25 executions I presided over as governor,” Ivey wrote. “However, to ensure the continued viability of capital punishment, I also believe that the most serious measure of government must be applied fairly and proportionately.”
Ivey pointed out that Derrick DeBruce, who was convicted of murdering the victim, is serving a life sentence without parole. DeBruce was also originally sentenced to death, but the sentence was later commuted.
“Charles Burton did not shoot the victim, did not instruct the shooter to shoot the victim, and had already left the store at the time of the shooting,” Ivey’s letter states. “Yet Mr. Burton is to be executed, while DeBruce is allowed to spend his life in prison. I cannot in good conscience proceed with the execution of Mr. Burton under such unequal circumstances. I consider it unjust that one participant in this crime be executed while the one who pulled the trigger is spared.”
Ivey emphasized that commuting the sentence does not diminish Burton’s responsibility. “To be clear, Mr. Burton is not eligible for parole and will rightly spend the rest of his life behind bars.” The decision follows growing public pressure over Burton’s planned execution.
The victim’s daughter had also publicly stated that she did not want Burton’s death sentence to be carried out. Ivey, who has been governor for almost 10 years, has only commuted one other death sentence to date. That was in February 2025 in the case of Robin D. “Rocky” Myers. Myers’ sentence was also commuted to life imprisonment without parole.
Sources:
https://www.wsfa.com/2026/03/10/gov-ivey-commutes-charles-sonny-burtons-death-sentence/
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/03/11/cedric-ricks-texas-execution-roxann-sanchez/89108983007/