For Immediate Release: March 10, 2026
Contact: media@colorofchange.org

NATIONAL —“People power kept Charles ‘Sonny’ Burton alive,” said Nadine Smith, president and CEO of Color Of Change. “Alabama just commuted his death sentence after a growing chorus of people across the country spoke out and refused to let this injustice happen quietly.

This commutation is a critical win in a system where the death penalty has always been shaped by anti-Black racism and injustice. Sonny, a 75-year-old Black man who did not pull the trigger, came within days of being executed, while the person who fired the fatal shot had their sentence reduced and is not facing execution.

Sonny’s case shows how racism and arbitrary power still decide who the state tries to kill. It also shows what happens when we organize. Color Of Change members and allies signed petitions, called the governor, and shared Sonny’s story until it became impossible to ignore.

Color Of Change opposes the death penalty as a racist, illegitimate, and unreformable punishment that should be ended. It is a system built in the shadow of racial terror, not a neutral tool that can be fixed with minor procedural tweaks. We will keep calling on people power to challenge the death penalty. Because you spoke out, Sonny’s life was spared.”

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Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by millions of members, we move decision-makers in corporations and governments to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America. Visit www.colorofchange.org.