MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Will Berry was 11 when his mother was killed. Thirty-three-year-old Margaret Parrish Berry was shot in the back of the head during a robbery at the gas station where she worked.
Geoffrey Todd West was 21 when he pulled the trigger, a decision he says he wishes each day that he could take back.
Berry and West exchanged letters ahead of West’s scheduled execution by nitrogen gas Thursday in Alabama. West expressed his remorse, and Berry offered forgiveness.
Berry is asking Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to stop the execution, saying he doesn't want anyone else to die.
“I forgive this guy, and I don’t want him to die,” Berry said in a telephone interview. “I don’t want the state to take revenge in my name or my family’s name for my mother."
Berry on Tuesday joined death penalty opponents in delivering a petition to the governor's office requesting she halt the execution.
“There shouldn't be any more death. There should be healing and moving forward,” Berry said.
He added that his mother taught him the importance of forgiveness. “Vengeance isn't for the state. It's for the Lord,” he said
Family members of murder victims have varied views on the death penalty. Many have sharply criticized the decades it can take for an execution to occur or the legal and media focus on the subject's potential suffering. But some have spoken out against the death penalty, including Berry and in another Alabama case when family members of a domestic violence victim unsuccessfully urged the governor in 2022 to let the man serve life in prison instead.
Margaret Berry, the mother of two sons, was shot while lying on the floor behind the counter at Harold's Chevron in Etowah County on March 28, 1997.
Prosecutors said the store clerk was killed to ensure there was no witness left behind. Court records state that $250 was taken from a cookie can that held the store’s money .A jury convicted West of capital murder during a robbery and voted 10-2 to recommend a death sentence — a recommendation accepted by the judge.
Etowah County Circuit Judge William Cardwell said at sentencing in 1999 that it was difficult to impose the death penalty on a young man but said the shooting death was “clearly deliberate and intentional, carried out execution style.”
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 regulations.
Alabama last year became the first state to carry out an execution with nitrogen. The method involves strapping a gas mask to the face and forcing the inmate to breathe pure nitrogen gas, thus depriving them of the oxygen needed to stay alive.
Berry wrote in his letter to Ivey that executing West would “weigh heavily on me, and it would not bring my mother back.”
Ivey replied in a Sept. 11 letter 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 his 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."
Will Berry rings a bell to symbolize opposition to the death penalty during a protest outside the Capitol in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday, Sept. 23,2025. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler)
Will Berry speaks during a protest outside the Capitol in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday, Sept. 23,2025. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler)
FILE - This undated photo from the Alabama Department of Corrections shows Geoffrey West. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP, File)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Eagles need a new offensive coordinator.
Ask most fans, commentators — and, privately, some players — and the change from Kevin Patullo was inevitable long before Philadelphia actually made the move this week in the wake of a playoff loss.
There's a “help wanted” sign for the new boss of an offense — one loaded with elite talent such as Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith — that fell way short as the Eagles failed in their bid to win consecutive Super Bowl titles.
Coach Nick Sirianni and general manager Howie Roseman were vague on details Thursday about why they waited until the end of the season to make the move — the Eagles ranked 24th in yards per game (311) and 19th in points per game (19.3) — and less clear on what they wanted out of a new coordinator.
“You’re looking to continue to evolve as an offense, and I’m looking to bring in the guy that’s going to best help us do that,” Sirianni said. “I think that there are many different ways to be successful on offense and everybody has different styles, everybody has different players, and there’s many different ways to be successful.”
The Eagles have plenty of credible candidates to choose from — everyone from Josh McCown and Cam Turner to former NFL coaches Brian Daboll, Mike McDaniel and Kliff Kingsbury. The new OC could have complete autonomy to run the offense, though collaboration has been key under Sirianni.
No matter the coordinator, the Eagles expect to be contenders again after playing in two of the last four Super Bowls. Just winning an NFC East title doesn't cut it these days in Philly.
“If it doesn’t end with confetti falling on our heads, I don’t feel like it’s good enough,” Roseman said. “I know that we’re not going to win the Super Bowl every year. I think I know that from a broad perspective, but I believe we can. I go into every offseason thinking we’re going to do whatever it takes to win a Super Bowl.”
Two-time All-Pro offensive tackle Lane Johnson has built a Hall of Fame-level career and won two Super Bowls since the Eagles made him a 2013 first-round pick.
Retirement talk was a hot topic for most of the season.
Johnson turns 36 in May and did not play after Week 11 because of a foot injury. He did not talk to the media this week when the Eagles cleaned out their lockers.
Roseman kept private his conversation with Johnson about retirement. Johnson reworked his contract last May and is signed through 2027.
“You're talking about a Hall of Fame player who’s been a huge, huge part of any of our success that we’ve had, and when you watch him play, he’s still playing at an elite level,” Roseman said.
Brown is likely staying put.
While he isn't shy about airing his grievances, the wide receiver is often worth the distractions because of his production.
Just not this season.
Brown had 78 receptions (down from 106 in 2023) for 1,003 yards (he had 1,496 in 2022) and only five 100-yard games. Of course, some of that dip in production resulted from how he was used in Patullo's offense. The changes ahead are one reason why the Eagles are in no rush to give up on the 28-year star — along with the $43 million dead salary cap hit they'd take if Brown wasn't on the roster.
“It is hard to find great players in the NFL and A.J.’s a great player,” Roseman said. “I think from my perspective, that’s what we’re going out and looking for when we go out here in free agency and in the draft is trying to find great players who love football, and he’s that guy. I think that would be my answer.”
Special teams coach Michael Clay had a virtual interview Thursday for the same job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Sirianni also hasn't ruled out Patullo staying on the staff in a different role.
“I know Kevin’s going to have other opportunities, and obviously always want what’s best for Kevin and for his family, so we’ll see how that plays out,” Sirianni said.
Patullo could want a fresh start after his house was egged earlier this season and one area indoor golf establishment let fans hit golf balls into a photo of his face after the playoff loss.
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Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni speaks with the media during a news conference at the NFL football team's training facility, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni speaks with the media during a news conference at the NFL football team's training facility, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Philadelphia Eagles executive vice president and general manager Howie Roseman, left, looks over as head coach Nick Sirianni, right, speaks with the media during a news conference at the NFL football team's training facility, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, right, and executive vice president and general manager Howie Roseman, left, speaks with the media during a news conference at the NFL football team's training facility, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni speaks with the media during a news conference at the NFL football team's training facility, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
