MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Will Berry was 11 when his mother was murdered. Thirty-three-year-old Margaret Parrish Berry was shot in the head during a robbery at the gas station where she worked.

Geoffrey 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. The two have asked to meet, but prison officials declined the request. Berry sent a letter to Gov. Kay Ivey asking her to halt the execution.

“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."

Family members

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