26 September 2025 :
September 25, 2025 - Alabama. Geoffrey Todd West, 50, White, was executed on September 25
Using nitrogen gas.
West was sentenced to death in 1999 in the March 1997 murder of convenience store clerk Margaret Parrish Berry.
According to court documents, West and his girlfriend entered a convenience store to rob the establishment. Berry was working when West shot and killed Berry. He stole $250 from the store.
Prior to his execution, West was given the opportunity to make a final statement but he declined. His attorney released a prepared statement to the media after he was put to death.
“I am sorry,” West said in his statement. “I have apologized privately to the family of Margaret Parrish Berry, and am humbled by the forgiveness her son, Will, has extended. I was baptized into the Catholic Church earlier this year and confirmed yesterday. I am at peace because I know where I am going and look forward to seeing Mrs. Berry when I get there. I urge everyone, especially young people, to find God. Spend a few moments to consider the two possibilities: this was all a fluke or there is a creator and a reason for everything. Your choice will determine where you spend eternity. God bless you all.”
Media who witnessed the execution said that staff for the Alabama Department of Corrections adjusted the mask shortly before the start of the execution. His spiritual adviser then walked over to West and prayed. West responded with a thumbs up sign.
After the execution began, West’s lips turned slightly pale and shook his head a couple of times and clenched his fists. His eyes also rolled to the back of his head and he began to salivate. West took several deep breaths followed by more shallow breaths. Witnesses also heard him gasping for breath before there was no more movement.
West was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m.
Berry’s son, Will, opposed the execution and said he wanted to meet in person with West. He urged Gov. Kay Ivey to exercise her authority and halt the execution. Ivey refused in a Sept. 11 letter, citing security concerns in denying a meeting with West.
In a statement following the execution, Will Berry expressed condolences to West’s family.
“From what we understand, he acted out of character that night,” the statement said. “People he grew up with said he was a good person who got off track. We pray that he gains peace when he meets his maker.”
“I believe that in seeking to execute Mr. West, the state of Alabama is playing God,” Will Berry wrote in a commentary. “I don’t want anyone to exact revenge in my name, nor in my mother’s. I believe life without the possibility of parole is just punishment. I believe there is an ending to this story where Mr. West and I find comfort in each other and in the healing power of forgiveness.”
The state executed Demetrius Frazier in February; James Osgood in April and Gregory Hunt in June. Frazier and Hunt were put to death by nitrogen gas; Osgood was executed by lethal injection.
West becomes the 4th person executed this year in Alabama, the third this year in Alabama using nitrogen gas, and the 82nd since the state resumed executions in 1983, the 32nd to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1,639th overall since the nation resumed executions in 1977.
