Margaret Parrish Berry Obituary, Death;- Will Berry was just 11 years old when his mother was tragically murdered. Margaret Parrish Berry, aged thirty-three, was shot in the head during a robbery at the gas station where she was employed.
Geoffrey West was 21 at the time he pulled the trigger, a choice he regrets every single day. Berry and West have exchanged letters in anticipation of West’s impending execution by nitrogen gas scheduled for Thursday in Alabama. West conveyed his remorse, while Berry extended forgiveness. They have expressed a desire to meet, but prison officials have denied their request. Berry has also written to Governor Kay Ivey, urging her to stop the execution.
“I forgive this individual, and I do not wish for him to die,” Berry stated in a phone interview. “I do not want the state to seek revenge in my name or in my family’s name for my mother.”
The perspectives of family members of murder victims regarding the death penalty are diverse. Many have voiced strong criticism regarding the lengthy duration it can take for an execution to be carried out, as well as the legal and media attention focused on the potential suffering of the subject. However, some, including Berry and family members of a domestic violence victim in another Alabama case, have spoken out against the death penalty, having unsuccessfully urged the governor in 2022 to allow the perpetrator to serve a life sentence instead.
The Associated Press was unable to immediately reach other surviving members of Margaret Berry’s family.
Margaret Berry, a mother of two sons, was fatally shot while lying on the floor behind the counter at Harold’s Chevron in Etowah County on March 28, 1997. Prosecutors indicated that she was murdered to eliminate any potential witnesses. A jury found West guilty of capital murder during a robbery and recommended a death sentence with a 10-2 vote.
West does not dispute that he killed Margaret Berry. He and his girlfriend were in dire need of money and decided to rob the store where he had previously worked. Now at 50, he finds it difficult to comprehend his actions at the age of 21.
“There is not a single day that passes without my regret and my wish to undo what I did,” West remarked during a phone call from prison.
The Associated Press could not immediately locate surviving other members of Margaret Berry’s family.
Margaret Berry, the mother of two sons, was shot dead while lying on the floor behind the counter at Harold’s Chevron in Etowah County on March 28, 1997. Prosecutors said she was murdered to ensure there was no witness left behind. A jury convicted West of capital murder during a robbery and voted 10-2 to recommend a death sentence.
West doesn’t deny he killed Margaret Berry. He and his girlfriend were desperate for cash and went to the store where he once worked to rob it. He said at 50 he struggles to understand what he did at 21.
“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t regret it and wish that I could take that back,” West said in a telephone call from prison.
He said he frequently replays the day in his head, wishing he could make himself turn and walk away.
“I wish I had the opportunity just to swap places and let it be me and not her,” he said.
The prison system denied Berry and West’s request to meet in person, citing security regulation forbidding visits between people in prison and victims.
Berry wrote in his letter to Ivey that West’s death would “weigh heavily on me, and it would not bring my mother back.”
Ivey replied in a letter dated Sept. 11 to Berry that she appreciated his belief, but she said Alabama law “imposes a death sentence for the most egregious form of murder.” She added that it is her duty to carry out the law.
Ivey has commuted one death sentence. The Republican governor said she did so only because of questions about the person’s guilt.
A spokesperson for Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office said in a statement that West has “been on death row for twenty-six years, and his sentence is due.” The office noted the brutality of the killing.
“She gave West the cash on hand, and he executed her,” the statement read.
Berry said his mother’s death derailed his life in many ways. He credits his wife Courtney and the church for getting him through.
West said he wants other young people in desperate situations to know they have a choice to walk away.
“If you don’t have nowhere else to go, go to church, find a priest, and just tell them everything. But just don’t do what I did, man,” he said. “You’ve got an option, even if you don’t feel like you’ve got an option.”
