Case: Charles L. Burton, Jr. v. John Q. Hamm, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections, No. 25A964
Lower Court: Eleventh Circuit
Docketed: Unknown
Status: Application
Question Presented: Question not identified.
On February 27, 2026, an application for a stay of execution of a death sentence was submitted to Justice Thomas on behalf of Charles L. Burton, Jr. The application, filed by attorney Matt Schulz, is the kind of emergency filing that arrives at the Court under acute time pressure, with an execution date presumably imminent. The Supreme Court docket reflects no prior conference activity and no amicus participation, suggesting this matter has moved quickly through the lower courts.
The case arises from the Eleventh Circuit. Because no formal question presented has been identified, the precise legal theory Burton advances remains unclear from the public record.
Alabama has been a frequent subject of last-minute capital litigation at the Court. As prior coverage of Alabama execution orders illustrates, the Court has sometimes allowed executions to proceed over dissent. Whether Justice Thomas acts alone or refers the application to the full Court will itself signal how the justices view the underlying claims’ strength.