Sept. 26, 2025
“Vengeance Isn’t for the State. It’s for the Lord” Heartfelt Reaction to the Execution of the Man Who Murdered His Mother
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RSS Feed Amy and T.J. have an update to the planned execution of Geoffrey West. Despite the powerful pleas from the victim’s son, West was declared dead at 6:22pm CT Thursday night, executed by the state of Alabama using nitrogen gas. West was convicted of the 1997 murder of a mother of two who was working at the gas station West and his girlfriend robbed, but in the wake of West’s execution, her son has a lesson for us all.
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00:00:01
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. It is Friday, September the twenty six and we here at Amy and TJ don't normally dedicate an episode to an execution that's taken place in the United States, but we are making an exception because this was an exceptional and heartbreaking and really unbelievable case. Welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Bottom line and execution Robes was carried out last night in Alabama, and it was against the strong, powerful public please of the man whose mother was murdered by this conflict, he has been begging the state not to kill this man and Robes. Last night they went forward.
00:00:47
Speaker 2: Anyway, that's right.
00:00:48
Speaker 3: Jeffrey West, fifty year old Jeffrey West was declared dead at six twenty two pm Central Time last night at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility. This happened in at Moore, Alabama. And yes, he was executed. You nitrogen gas. This was first used in Alabama last year. Correct, that was the first incident of nitrogen gas. It's a new option, so to speak. It sounds awful to say that, but a new option for inmates who are on death row. They get to choose the way the manner in which they are executed, and this.
00:01:21
Speaker 1: Got a lot of attention in the nitrogen gas. We'll tell you how that went last night and why that has been so controversial, But the case itself controversial just for that. I mean, he killed a woman in nineteen ninety seven who had two sons, one of them was eleven years old at the time, and that eleven year old is now what in his thirties and has been begging, begging the state not to kill this man. In itself, we've seen cases like this before, this one still kind of stood out where the family of the victim is advocating that the state not put the inmate to death. His pleas and his reasons rose made this case so heartbreaking that you find yourself rooting for a death row inmate's life to be spared, because that's what the victim wants, and you couldn't help by listening to Will Barry make this case, you couldn't help but feel his pain.
00:02:14
Speaker 2: That's right.
00:02:14
Speaker 3: I mean, we actually did a podcast on this earlier because his words were so moving, his forgiveness so inspiring, and the reasons he gave for anyone who values life, and I would imagine that's everyone listening here made a lot of sense because do we give people, do we honor people because they've done horrible things, if they've turned their life around, if they're sorry for what they did, and if they can have an impact on people, if they could actually touch the lives of people before they make mistakes like they did, if they could actually have a positive, positive impact on the world. Is there not value then into letting that person, yes, still be punished, remain behind bars, but actually do good and make up for the bad.
00:02:59
Speaker 1: I'm on board everything you said about the possibility of there being value to this person's life. I think that's harder for the public to get on board with thinking that a murderer, a guy who shot a woman who was laying on the floor behind a counter, shot her in the head so there wouldn't be any witnesses. It's hard for any of us to look and go, okay, that human being has value somewhere down the road. That's a harder lift, but it's an easier lift when you hear Will Barry say why he doesn't want this man killed. I mean, he was an leven year old boy who lost his mom and he said, this has been the most painful thing that has shaped his life. He argued that the thing that could help him Robes was to get closure, to meet with West, to pray with West, to forgive West. He actually said he needed that, and it's been denied him. That's the part that I think all of us as human beings have to look. You don't feel sorry for the killer, but you feel sorry for Will Barry.
00:03:55
Speaker 2: Correct.
00:03:55
Speaker 3: And if this country, our legal system are justice system has historically and repeatedly and currently not valued or not even considered the feelings, And I would argue it should be the rights of victims to have a say in what happens in punishing the person responsible for their pain.
00:04:19
Speaker 1: I'd be on board with that one hundred percent. If somebody is getting the death penalty and the victim's family steps forward and says we don't want this to happen, I think that should be a done deal. I agree be okay with them getting that Right now, the governor, who Will Berry appealed to to please commute this sentence, say hey, my hands are tied by the law. I am here to carry out the law for the people of Alabama. So it was a weird response in that it seems like, no, we know better than what you who's been most impacted by this, We know better than you.
00:04:51
Speaker 2: I because she could have. I mean, she's saying she couldn't, but she could have.
00:04:55
Speaker 3: That is just the truth. That is her discretion as governor to make that call. She knows she'd be feeling some heed for it, and she knows certain people and a lot of folks might be upset about it, but she still her she had the right to make her decision based on her own moral conscience.
00:05:10
Speaker 1: And that's what we're not I guess you know what you say? That is that not what we're supposed to be dealing with here. Is there no room for moral consciousness when we're talking about death penalty, when we're talking about punishing someone who did some of the most heinous crimes we heard of? Is there any place for that?
00:05:28
Speaker 3: I think there is, And I think that's why we give governors the right at the very last minute, up until the minute before the execution is set to begin, there was a phone right there in the room, and the governor can call up until the minute before and can offer a reprieve or a stay of execution.
00:05:45
Speaker 1: And a reminder here that what has happened, and this was why we first started covering this story and got so interested in it, is that West, yes, West, the murderer, and will Barry, the son who was eleven. You ten years separate them in age.
00:05:58
Speaker 3: Yeah, he was twenty one when he can the crime when he murdered his mother. So the two men are only ten years apart.
00:06:04
Speaker 1: They've been exchanging letters in which Very extended forgiveness to the man who killed his mother and West extended an apology since silwell, he said it was a sincere apology for killing him. This is the relationship they've built, and they wanted to meet and they wouldn't allow it. My first thing, well why not, what's the big deal? Well, it is a big deal.
00:06:27
Speaker 3: Yes, there is security issues, and that does make sense because they can't have victims, family members or friends of the victim meet with the convicted murderer of said family member because there's concern that violence could erupt and you could say one thing and then do another when you get into the prison. So just as a matter of public safety and certainly security there at the prison, they have a rule against that.
00:06:51
Speaker 1: I don't want anyone to exact revenge in my name nor in my mother's. This guy has really for a while been on a campaign to try to spit this man's life, and it did not happen. Now we're gonna give you a couple of the details, and again this is Look, this is a year we've had thirty three plus executions in this country. That's the highest number we've seen in some ten plus years, and another nine or ten scheduled for this year. So we're just on a pace and a lot of it has to do robed with For a while, some of the drugs were in question and caught up in quart are they cruel and unusual, So a lot of states didn't have the tools to execute anybody. So now they've got new resources and now we're seeing uptick in some of the options they have. We had what was it last year this year the firing squad, expiring squad, So this has been going on. So nitrogen gas the process essentially put a mask over your face and you're only breathing in this nitrogen gas. You're being denied oxygen, which is what the body needs to survive, so every cell in your body is getting cut off. Someone described it I saw it's like your inside being like cryovect like you're just shrink And they talk about how painful this could possibly be. We don't obviously know. But last night, this all got started right before six o'clock. And this is how the process what you've done.
00:08:13
Speaker 2: I have witnessed and execution.
00:08:14
Speaker 3: I witnessed a lethal injection when I was twenty three years old, a man who had been on death row for twenty seven years. And I can tell you from my own personal observations it was not gentle, it was not peaceful, and it certainly looked very painful. It was lethal injection, and I think this is one of the reasons why that method had been called into question in terms of the order that the drugs were given, the type of drugs that were given. But I saw this man his chest shot up. He was actually making noises, moaning and gurgling in pain. It was wildly difficult to witness and watch. So this execution that happened last night, the curtain opened, and yeah, they have curtains. I mean that was my experience as well. It's very much like what you see in the movie is it happens in real life. The curtain opened at five point fifty two two, West was situated so he was facing the viewing room, and the warden read the execution warrant, and the warden did ask him, as they do every time, do you have any last words?
00:09:10
Speaker 2: And West responded, no, sir.
00:09:13
Speaker 1: He did have We'll share this with you in a second. But he didn't have any words then, but he did have a statement that was released by his lawyer afterwards. Were going to share that in just a.
00:09:22
Speaker 3: Moment, yes, So then Wes gave a nod to the priest who was in the room with him, father Patrick Badden, he had just converted to Catholicism this past year, and gave a thumbs up to his attorney in the viewing room. And so then at five fifty five the correction officer came in checked the seal on the gas mask, and then Father Madden was able to step in to West for a quick prayer.
00:09:45
Speaker 2: And the folks who.
00:09:46
Speaker 3: Were in the room, and they usually they always have a member of the media there because that's a part of the process so that they can say what they saw. They are official witnesses. And according to them, Wes coughed and then gasped, and then his head went to this he was described as appearing to foam at the mouth, and then it was at six oh one he started to take deep.
00:10:06
Speaker 2: Breaths that turned to shallow.
00:10:08
Speaker 3: Five minutes later, at six oh six, witnesses say his torso pulsed and then he appeared to stop moving. Soon after that, at six seventeen, the curtains.
00:10:18
Speaker 1: Closed, and then we got the official word later that six twenty two is when he was declared dead. Now, they came out afterwards and a lot of questions about the nitrogen gas that was used. They said it has been different every time. I think it's the fifth or sixth time they've done it in Alabama in the past figure I believe in the past two years. And they say every time the inmate, the body reacts differently. But they said this was the least amount of movement that they have seen in all of those six executions. They said all the movements they believe were involuntary by the body. And they say he was not feeling or experiencing any of this or doing all of this on his own. But that is what happened in that room last night. Now, he did not say anything that moment. I think that's fascinating. You have any last words and you actually say no, you don't want to say anything.
00:11:04
Speaker 2: Most of the time that is what happens.
00:11:05
Speaker 1: That I say no, sir. But we always hear about the ones when there is something that they say. Sometimes they say something crazy when they are A guy.
00:11:11
Speaker 2: Said something Trump, Yes, yes, okay.
00:11:14
Speaker 1: Well this guy didn't say anything then, but he did have a statement he released I'll excuse me, his attorney released back.
00:11:19
Speaker 3: Can you imagine, I mean no, what it would be like to know these are the last things coming out of my mouth.
00:11:23
Speaker 2: You'd want to get it right. So maybe that is why he chose.
00:11:25
Speaker 3: To put it in a statement that he wrote, instead of something that he would have to memorize and might not say correctly. So this was West's final statement. It starts with three very powerful words with a period. I am sorry period. I have apologized privately to the family of Margaret Parish Barry 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 missus Barry when I get there. I urge everyone, a special young people to find God, spend a few moments to consider the two possibilities. This was all a fluke, or there was a creator and a reason for everything. Your choice will determine where you spend eternity.
00:12:12
Speaker 2: God bless you all.
00:12:14
Speaker 1: I know nothing of him other than the crime he committed. I don't know before I read that statement who this guy is now, because that flies in the face of the crime, which by all accounts, I say all accounts at least from the family will Barry. He said this was a guy who was on the right path and who was a good dude who had a detour something went wrong in his life. He was open to forgiveness and understanding that maybe this wasn't a terrible guy. Maybe there's a good guy who did a bad thing. For him to even be able to separate that as the victim is amazing to me. But I don't I know. Some folks quick to dismiss this is a convicted killer. He shot the woman in the head. Who gives a damn what he has to say? Maybe we should, I.
00:13:03
Speaker 3: Mean, yeah, considering the fact that he's twenty one years old when he committed the crime. I'm not accusing that, but twenty one twenty one is a big, big difference than you know. I wonder if he had been twenty or nineteen or eighteen. I know they can still try you as an adult, but still he had just entered his first year of official adulthood.
00:13:25
Speaker 1: Again, we are not no one'll ever make any use at all, but it's just interesting to think about. I mean, the people we end up learning most from the people who have made mistakes, were screwed up the most. And yes, sometimes people have done horrendous things like this. But to hear his statement and in his final thing to say to the earth is that he wished to see this woman that he killed and to talk about forgiveness and encourage others. I don't know. I know some people are dismiss I just think as powerful as moving and it's important and I'm glad to have it and see it. I'm glad Will Barry brought this to our attention. We look at it, we.
00:14:00
Speaker 2: Can learn from this.
00:14:01
Speaker 3: And in West's final days, we know that he had several visitors, including his mom who is still alive, his father, his pastor, his cousin, his brother, his nephew's like his family all came to meet with him, which is pretty cool that there's still a relationship there and that they saw the value in what he was able to evolve into over the years. His final meal, everyone always wants to know that chicken.
00:14:24
Speaker 2: Quesadilla is always interesting. Yeah, everyone makes a different choice. I would never have picked that one. I never would have guessed that one. How about that?
00:14:30
Speaker 1: Okay, that's a good way. You expecting the steak and potato or something like that. But that was his final meal. But we want to tell you also we've been talking about Will Barry again, the kid that was eleven years old when this man killed his mom. Well, Barry has been fighting and fighting for a while trying to keep West from being executed. Well after it happen happened last night, he put out a statement as well. We want you to hear what he had to say after the State of Alabama took from him something he he desperately needed for healing in his life.
00:15:11
Speaker 3: Continuing now, on this episode of Amy and TJ, we are talking about the execution by nitrogen gas. This of course happened to in Alabama.
00:15:23
Speaker 2: This was.
00:15:25
Speaker 3: An execution we have been talking about for some time. But this was an unusual execution because here we have the victim's son, who was eleven years old at the time that his mother was murdered, asking for the state to spare this man's life, to spare the man's life who killed his mother, and those pleased to the governor and to anyone who would listen. Unfortunately went unanswered, and the execution was carried out last night around six pm Central time.
00:15:54
Speaker 1: They're doing their duty. We're not speaking as anyone here or who has we think they did something wrong in terms of the case, in terms of the law. It is just from a human standpoint when you hear the pleas of a man who says he needs this in his life in some way to help with his healing process. That's been going on since he was eleven years old, and so now it's gone, the opportunity is gone. That just sucks for him.
00:16:16
Speaker 3: Yes, so Jeffrey West was in fact executed, and Will Barry after that execution, released this statement. Well, he said vengeance isn't for the state, it's for the Lord. When did he say that.
00:16:27
Speaker 1: He said that this week on the step of the Capitol. They were there delivering a petition saying, please spare his life.
00:16:32
Speaker 3: Okay, so then his statement reads as follows, we are stunned that this is happening. Please convey our condolences to his mother and the rest of his family. From what we understand, he acted out of character that night. 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. What a beautiful statement to offer condolences to the man's mother who murdered your mother.
00:17:03
Speaker 2: That is remarkable.
00:17:04
Speaker 1: You could you could understand a tendency to look at the family and go and hate them like you raise this monster. Look what he did to my family. There is something, Yes, I'll go back to Erica Kirk. There is something in forgiveness. There is something, And we talked about this faith you got. There is a certain level of faith in people that I think allows for this type of forgiveness. This type bro, we're not saying I'm sorry or forgive you for stealing my candy out of the drawer. We're not saying I'm sorry for breaking my heart. When I say, is you murdered somebody that was everything to me and I forgive you Jesus.
00:17:43
Speaker 3: And I am offering condolences now to your family because I didn't think that you should die, and I hope and pray that you'll be okay. I mean that that's even an extra level to.
00:17:53
Speaker 2: Then offer condolences. I thought that was incredibly powerful.
00:17:57
Speaker 1: So I for Austin, for this story. There's just lessons here, and there have been several of these lately, like I just don't know. And I heard Erica Kerr. I think Erica Kirk had a lot of people thinking about forgiveness. Yes, not something to that level of course what was taken from her, but all in our lives. And this is a story where these people were talking to ether like human beings, not like killers, not like anything other than human beings. And life is precious and why kill another one? Why lose another one? If there's value to his life, even if it was for one person only, then that life should have been spared.
00:18:38
Speaker 3: Yeah, and will Berry just said very much so to why compound a tragedy with another tragedy? I mean, he made that point very very clear. I do think we've had so many tough headlines about revenge, about political politically motivated killings. But then in the wake of all of that, we have seen exceptional moments of forgiveness. And so if we can and take that lesson, if we can look at those lessons and the impact that those can have versus the violence, but just the forgiveness and the ability to extend grace, that's the silver lining.
00:19:11
Speaker 1: You just nailed it, all right, That's it right there. That's what I've been trying to say this whole episode. You really saying that you in Washington, you can't say a nice thing about the guy and the other party, but the guy whose mom was killed by Jeffrey West is willing to forgive him, but you can't get along with the Democratic senator or Republican represent.
00:19:34
Speaker 2: Star former FBI direction.
00:19:36
Speaker 1: We got a yes, they are setting examples for our leaders, who are the ones who should be setting the examples for us. So this is a tragic but beautiful story and lessons within it. I think Will Berry for being willing to share so publicly what he's been going on.
00:19:54
Speaker 3: Yeah, Will Barry, Erica Kirk, thank you for being bright lights in an otherwise pretty dark couple of weeks. Thank you for that, and we hope that gives you some hope, some inspiration and maybe a new way to look at things. It certainly has for us. And with that, thank you for listening. I'm Amy Roboch alongside TJ.
00:20:09
Speaker 2: Holmes.
00:20:09
Speaker 3: Have a great day, everybody,
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. It is Friday, September the twenty six and we here at Amy and TJ don't normally dedicate an episode to an execution that's taken place in the United States, but we are making an exception because this was an exceptional and heartbreaking and really unbelievable case. Welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Bottom line and execution Robes was carried out last night in Alabama, and it was against the strong, powerful public please of the man whose mother was murdered by this conflict, he has been begging the state not to kill this man and Robes. Last night they went forward.
00:00:47
Speaker 2: Anyway, that's right.
00:00:48
Speaker 3: Jeffrey West, fifty year old Jeffrey West was declared dead at six twenty two pm Central Time last night at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility. This happened in at Moore, Alabama. And yes, he was executed. You nitrogen gas. This was first used in Alabama last year. Correct, that was the first incident of nitrogen gas. It's a new option, so to speak. It sounds awful to say that, but a new option for inmates who are on death row. They get to choose the way the manner in which they are executed, and this.
00:01:21
Speaker 1: Got a lot of attention in the nitrogen gas. We'll tell you how that went last night and why that has been so controversial, But the case itself controversial just for that. I mean, he killed a woman in nineteen ninety seven who had two sons, one of them was eleven years old at the time, and that eleven year old is now what in his thirties and has been begging, begging the state not to kill this man. In itself, we've seen cases like this before, this one still kind of stood out where the family of the victim is advocating that the state not put the inmate to death. His pleas and his reasons rose made this case so heartbreaking that you find yourself rooting for a death row inmate's life to be spared, because that's what the victim wants, and you couldn't help by listening to Will Barry make this case, you couldn't help but feel his pain.
00:02:14
Speaker 2: That's right.
00:02:14
Speaker 3: I mean, we actually did a podcast on this earlier because his words were so moving, his forgiveness so inspiring, and the reasons he gave for anyone who values life, and I would imagine that's everyone listening here made a lot of sense because do we give people, do we honor people because they've done horrible things, if they've turned their life around, if they're sorry for what they did, and if they can have an impact on people, if they could actually touch the lives of people before they make mistakes like they did, if they could actually have a positive, positive impact on the world. Is there not value then into letting that person, yes, still be punished, remain behind bars, but actually do good and make up for the bad.
00:02:59
Speaker 1: I'm on board everything you said about the possibility of there being value to this person's life. I think that's harder for the public to get on board with thinking that a murderer, a guy who shot a woman who was laying on the floor behind a counter, shot her in the head so there wouldn't be any witnesses. It's hard for any of us to look and go, okay, that human being has value somewhere down the road. That's a harder lift, but it's an easier lift when you hear Will Barry say why he doesn't want this man killed. I mean, he was an leven year old boy who lost his mom and he said, this has been the most painful thing that has shaped his life. He argued that the thing that could help him Robes was to get closure, to meet with West, to pray with West, to forgive West. He actually said he needed that, and it's been denied him. That's the part that I think all of us as human beings have to look. You don't feel sorry for the killer, but you feel sorry for Will Barry.
00:03:55
Speaker 2: Correct.
00:03:55
Speaker 3: And if this country, our legal system are justice system has historically and repeatedly and currently not valued or not even considered the feelings, And I would argue it should be the rights of victims to have a say in what happens in punishing the person responsible for their pain.
00:04:19
Speaker 1: I'd be on board with that one hundred percent. If somebody is getting the death penalty and the victim's family steps forward and says we don't want this to happen, I think that should be a done deal. I agree be okay with them getting that Right now, the governor, who Will Berry appealed to to please commute this sentence, say hey, my hands are tied by the law. I am here to carry out the law for the people of Alabama. So it was a weird response in that it seems like, no, we know better than what you who's been most impacted by this, We know better than you.
00:04:51
Speaker 2: I because she could have. I mean, she's saying she couldn't, but she could have.
00:04:55
Speaker 3: That is just the truth. That is her discretion as governor to make that call. She knows she'd be feeling some heed for it, and she knows certain people and a lot of folks might be upset about it, but she still her she had the right to make her decision based on her own moral conscience.
00:05:10
Speaker 1: And that's what we're not I guess you know what you say? That is that not what we're supposed to be dealing with here. Is there no room for moral consciousness when we're talking about death penalty, when we're talking about punishing someone who did some of the most heinous crimes we heard of? Is there any place for that?
00:05:28
Speaker 3: I think there is, And I think that's why we give governors the right at the very last minute, up until the minute before the execution is set to begin, there was a phone right there in the room, and the governor can call up until the minute before and can offer a reprieve or a stay of execution.
00:05:45
Speaker 1: And a reminder here that what has happened, and this was why we first started covering this story and got so interested in it, is that West, yes, West, the murderer, and will Barry, the son who was eleven. You ten years separate them in age.
00:05:58
Speaker 3: Yeah, he was twenty one when he can the crime when he murdered his mother. So the two men are only ten years apart.
00:06:04
Speaker 1: They've been exchanging letters in which Very extended forgiveness to the man who killed his mother and West extended an apology since silwell, he said it was a sincere apology for killing him. This is the relationship they've built, and they wanted to meet and they wouldn't allow it. My first thing, well why not, what's the big deal? Well, it is a big deal.
00:06:27
Speaker 3: Yes, there is security issues, and that does make sense because they can't have victims, family members or friends of the victim meet with the convicted murderer of said family member because there's concern that violence could erupt and you could say one thing and then do another when you get into the prison. So just as a matter of public safety and certainly security there at the prison, they have a rule against that.
00:06:51
Speaker 1: I don't want anyone to exact revenge in my name nor in my mother's. This guy has really for a while been on a campaign to try to spit this man's life, and it did not happen. Now we're gonna give you a couple of the details, and again this is Look, this is a year we've had thirty three plus executions in this country. That's the highest number we've seen in some ten plus years, and another nine or ten scheduled for this year. So we're just on a pace and a lot of it has to do robed with For a while, some of the drugs were in question and caught up in quart are they cruel and unusual, So a lot of states didn't have the tools to execute anybody. So now they've got new resources and now we're seeing uptick in some of the options they have. We had what was it last year this year the firing squad, expiring squad, So this has been going on. So nitrogen gas the process essentially put a mask over your face and you're only breathing in this nitrogen gas. You're being denied oxygen, which is what the body needs to survive, so every cell in your body is getting cut off. Someone described it I saw it's like your inside being like cryovect like you're just shrink And they talk about how painful this could possibly be. We don't obviously know. But last night, this all got started right before six o'clock. And this is how the process what you've done.
00:08:13
Speaker 2: I have witnessed and execution.
00:08:14
Speaker 3: I witnessed a lethal injection when I was twenty three years old, a man who had been on death row for twenty seven years. And I can tell you from my own personal observations it was not gentle, it was not peaceful, and it certainly looked very painful. It was lethal injection, and I think this is one of the reasons why that method had been called into question in terms of the order that the drugs were given, the type of drugs that were given. But I saw this man his chest shot up. He was actually making noises, moaning and gurgling in pain. It was wildly difficult to witness and watch. So this execution that happened last night, the curtain opened, and yeah, they have curtains. I mean that was my experience as well. It's very much like what you see in the movie is it happens in real life. The curtain opened at five point fifty two two, West was situated so he was facing the viewing room, and the warden read the execution warrant, and the warden did ask him, as they do every time, do you have any last words?
00:09:10
Speaker 2: And West responded, no, sir.
00:09:13
Speaker 1: He did have We'll share this with you in a second. But he didn't have any words then, but he did have a statement that was released by his lawyer afterwards. Were going to share that in just a.
00:09:22
Speaker 3: Moment, yes, So then Wes gave a nod to the priest who was in the room with him, father Patrick Badden, he had just converted to Catholicism this past year, and gave a thumbs up to his attorney in the viewing room. And so then at five fifty five the correction officer came in checked the seal on the gas mask, and then Father Madden was able to step in to West for a quick prayer.
00:09:45
Speaker 2: And the folks who.
00:09:46
Speaker 3: Were in the room, and they usually they always have a member of the media there because that's a part of the process so that they can say what they saw. They are official witnesses. And according to them, Wes coughed and then gasped, and then his head went to this he was described as appearing to foam at the mouth, and then it was at six oh one he started to take deep.
00:10:06
Speaker 2: Breaths that turned to shallow.
00:10:08
Speaker 3: Five minutes later, at six oh six, witnesses say his torso pulsed and then he appeared to stop moving. Soon after that, at six seventeen, the curtains.
00:10:18
Speaker 1: Closed, and then we got the official word later that six twenty two is when he was declared dead. Now, they came out afterwards and a lot of questions about the nitrogen gas that was used. They said it has been different every time. I think it's the fifth or sixth time they've done it in Alabama in the past figure I believe in the past two years. And they say every time the inmate, the body reacts differently. But they said this was the least amount of movement that they have seen in all of those six executions. They said all the movements they believe were involuntary by the body. And they say he was not feeling or experiencing any of this or doing all of this on his own. But that is what happened in that room last night. Now, he did not say anything that moment. I think that's fascinating. You have any last words and you actually say no, you don't want to say anything.
00:11:04
Speaker 2: Most of the time that is what happens.
00:11:05
Speaker 1: That I say no, sir. But we always hear about the ones when there is something that they say. Sometimes they say something crazy when they are A guy.
00:11:11
Speaker 2: Said something Trump, Yes, yes, okay.
00:11:14
Speaker 1: Well this guy didn't say anything then, but he did have a statement he released I'll excuse me, his attorney released back.
00:11:19
Speaker 3: Can you imagine, I mean no, what it would be like to know these are the last things coming out of my mouth.
00:11:23
Speaker 2: You'd want to get it right. So maybe that is why he chose.
00:11:25
Speaker 3: To put it in a statement that he wrote, instead of something that he would have to memorize and might not say correctly. So this was West's final statement. It starts with three very powerful words with a period. I am sorry period. I have apologized privately to the family of Margaret Parish Barry 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 missus Barry when I get there. I urge everyone, a special young people to find God, spend a few moments to consider the two possibilities. This was all a fluke, or there was a creator and a reason for everything. Your choice will determine where you spend eternity.
00:12:12
Speaker 2: God bless you all.
00:12:14
Speaker 1: I know nothing of him other than the crime he committed. I don't know before I read that statement who this guy is now, because that flies in the face of the crime, which by all accounts, I say all accounts at least from the family will Barry. He said this was a guy who was on the right path and who was a good dude who had a detour something went wrong in his life. He was open to forgiveness and understanding that maybe this wasn't a terrible guy. Maybe there's a good guy who did a bad thing. For him to even be able to separate that as the victim is amazing to me. But I don't I know. Some folks quick to dismiss this is a convicted killer. He shot the woman in the head. Who gives a damn what he has to say? Maybe we should, I.
00:13:03
Speaker 3: Mean, yeah, considering the fact that he's twenty one years old when he committed the crime. I'm not accusing that, but twenty one twenty one is a big, big difference than you know. I wonder if he had been twenty or nineteen or eighteen. I know they can still try you as an adult, but still he had just entered his first year of official adulthood.
00:13:25
Speaker 1: Again, we are not no one'll ever make any use at all, but it's just interesting to think about. I mean, the people we end up learning most from the people who have made mistakes, were screwed up the most. And yes, sometimes people have done horrendous things like this. But to hear his statement and in his final thing to say to the earth is that he wished to see this woman that he killed and to talk about forgiveness and encourage others. I don't know. I know some people are dismiss I just think as powerful as moving and it's important and I'm glad to have it and see it. I'm glad Will Barry brought this to our attention. We look at it, we.
00:14:00
Speaker 2: Can learn from this.
00:14:01
Speaker 3: And in West's final days, we know that he had several visitors, including his mom who is still alive, his father, his pastor, his cousin, his brother, his nephew's like his family all came to meet with him, which is pretty cool that there's still a relationship there and that they saw the value in what he was able to evolve into over the years. His final meal, everyone always wants to know that chicken.
00:14:24
Speaker 2: Quesadilla is always interesting. Yeah, everyone makes a different choice. I would never have picked that one. I never would have guessed that one. How about that?
00:14:30
Speaker 1: Okay, that's a good way. You expecting the steak and potato or something like that. But that was his final meal. But we want to tell you also we've been talking about Will Barry again, the kid that was eleven years old when this man killed his mom. Well, Barry has been fighting and fighting for a while trying to keep West from being executed. Well after it happen happened last night, he put out a statement as well. We want you to hear what he had to say after the State of Alabama took from him something he he desperately needed for healing in his life.
00:15:11
Speaker 3: Continuing now, on this episode of Amy and TJ, we are talking about the execution by nitrogen gas. This of course happened to in Alabama.
00:15:23
Speaker 2: This was.
00:15:25
Speaker 3: An execution we have been talking about for some time. But this was an unusual execution because here we have the victim's son, who was eleven years old at the time that his mother was murdered, asking for the state to spare this man's life, to spare the man's life who killed his mother, and those pleased to the governor and to anyone who would listen. Unfortunately went unanswered, and the execution was carried out last night around six pm Central time.
00:15:54
Speaker 1: They're doing their duty. We're not speaking as anyone here or who has we think they did something wrong in terms of the case, in terms of the law. It is just from a human standpoint when you hear the pleas of a man who says he needs this in his life in some way to help with his healing process. That's been going on since he was eleven years old, and so now it's gone, the opportunity is gone. That just sucks for him.
00:16:16
Speaker 3: Yes, so Jeffrey West was in fact executed, and Will Barry after that execution, released this statement. Well, he said vengeance isn't for the state, it's for the Lord. When did he say that.
00:16:27
Speaker 1: He said that this week on the step of the Capitol. They were there delivering a petition saying, please spare his life.
00:16:32
Speaker 3: Okay, so then his statement reads as follows, we are stunned that this is happening. Please convey our condolences to his mother and the rest of his family. From what we understand, he acted out of character that night. 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. What a beautiful statement to offer condolences to the man's mother who murdered your mother.
00:17:03
Speaker 2: That is remarkable.
00:17:04
Speaker 1: You could you could understand a tendency to look at the family and go and hate them like you raise this monster. Look what he did to my family. There is something, Yes, I'll go back to Erica Kirk. There is something in forgiveness. There is something, And we talked about this faith you got. There is a certain level of faith in people that I think allows for this type of forgiveness. This type bro, we're not saying I'm sorry or forgive you for stealing my candy out of the drawer. We're not saying I'm sorry for breaking my heart. When I say, is you murdered somebody that was everything to me and I forgive you Jesus.
00:17:43
Speaker 3: And I am offering condolences now to your family because I didn't think that you should die, and I hope and pray that you'll be okay. I mean that that's even an extra level to.
00:17:53
Speaker 2: Then offer condolences. I thought that was incredibly powerful.
00:17:57
Speaker 1: So I for Austin, for this story. There's just lessons here, and there have been several of these lately, like I just don't know. And I heard Erica Kerr. I think Erica Kirk had a lot of people thinking about forgiveness. Yes, not something to that level of course what was taken from her, but all in our lives. And this is a story where these people were talking to ether like human beings, not like killers, not like anything other than human beings. And life is precious and why kill another one? Why lose another one? If there's value to his life, even if it was for one person only, then that life should have been spared.
00:18:38
Speaker 3: Yeah, and will Berry just said very much so to why compound a tragedy with another tragedy? I mean, he made that point very very clear. I do think we've had so many tough headlines about revenge, about political politically motivated killings. But then in the wake of all of that, we have seen exceptional moments of forgiveness. And so if we can and take that lesson, if we can look at those lessons and the impact that those can have versus the violence, but just the forgiveness and the ability to extend grace, that's the silver lining.
00:19:11
Speaker 1: You just nailed it, all right, That's it right there. That's what I've been trying to say this whole episode. You really saying that you in Washington, you can't say a nice thing about the guy and the other party, but the guy whose mom was killed by Jeffrey West is willing to forgive him, but you can't get along with the Democratic senator or Republican represent.
00:19:34
Speaker 2: Star former FBI direction.
00:19:36
Speaker 1: We got a yes, they are setting examples for our leaders, who are the ones who should be setting the examples for us. So this is a tragic but beautiful story and lessons within it. I think Will Berry for being willing to share so publicly what he's been going on.
00:19:54
Speaker 3: Yeah, Will Barry, Erica Kirk, thank you for being bright lights in an otherwise pretty dark couple of weeks. Thank you for that, and we hope that gives you some hope, some inspiration and maybe a new way to look at things. It certainly has for us. And with that, thank you for listening. I'm Amy Roboch alongside TJ.
00:20:09
Speaker 2: Holmes.
00:20:09
Speaker 3: Have a great day, everybody,