Murdered Woman’s Son ‘Forgives’ Killer and Pleads to Stop His Execution in Alabama By Kimberlee Speakman

The son of a woman murdered nearly 25 years ago is asking that her killer be spared from execution.

Will Berry — whose mother, Margaret Berry, was shot and killed in 1997 by then-21-year-old Geoffrey West — says he has forgiven West and is urging Alabama officials to stop his execution, according to the Associated Press, USA Today and The Independent. 

Margaret was killed by West during a robbery at Harold’s Chevron in Etowah County, where she was employed on March 28, 1997. West was convicted of the murder and voted 10-2 to recommend a death sentence, per the AP.

West, who is now 51 years old, is scheduled for execution by nitrogen gas at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility on Thursday, Sept. 25, according to the outlets.

However, Will, who was 11 years old when the incident occurred, told the AP that he had written a letter to Ala. Gov. Kay Ivey — who scheduled the execution — in an effort to put a stop to it. He told the outlets that he has exchanged letters with West and has since forgiven him for his mother’s death.

“I forgive this guy, and I don’t want him to die,” Berry told AP in a phone interview. “I don’t want the state to take revenge in my name or my family’s name for my mother.”

His words echoed a similar sentiment he shared in an opinion piece published in the Montgomery Advertiser. In the piece, he detailed why he didn’t want “revenge” exacted in “his name.”

“That won’t bring my mother back; it will only add to the pain I have lived with since the night she was shot,” he wrote. “I believe that in seeking to execute Mr. West, the state of Alabama is playing God. I don’t want anyone to exact revenge in my name, nor in my mother’s.”

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He added that he thought that life in prison without parole was a just sentence for West, noting that he also believes “there is an ending to this story where Mr. West and I find comfort in each other and in the healing power of forgiveness.”

Will told the AP that Gov. Ivey replied to his letter, saying that while she understood his situation, Alabama law “imposes a death sentence for the most egregious form of murder,” and she was obligated to enforce it.

PEOPLE has reached out to Gov. Ivey’s office for comment on Will’s request. The office noted in a call that there have been no updates to West’s scheduled execution.

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As for West, he has also reportedly shown remorse for his actions in 1997. He told the AP in a phone interview that he did not understand the reasons why he did what he did at 21 and wished that it had never happened.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t regret it and wish that I could take that back,” he reportedly told the outlet, adding, “I wish I had the opportunity just to swap places and let it be me and not her.”

A spokesperson for Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office said in a statement to the AP on West’s execution that the inmate had “been on death row for twenty-six years, and his sentence is due.” The AG’s office noted, “[Margaret] gave West the cash on hand, and he executed her.”