Montgomery, Alabama.Alabama has set a September nitrogen gas execution date for a man found guilty of robbing a convenience store clerk in 1997.
Geoffrey Todd West will be put to death on September 25 by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey. West, who killed Margaret Parrish Berry, is currently on death row at the age of 49.
According to the prosecution, West planned to rob the Harold’s Chevron in Attalla when he drove there. Prosecutors stated that Berry, 33, was laying on the floor behind the counter when he was shot in the back of the head.
According to court documents, $250 was stolen from a cookie tin that contained the store’s funds.
West was found guilty of capital murder by a jury that recommended a death sentence by a vote of 10–2. West was given the death penalty when a judge accepted the jury’s recommendation.
During the 1999 sentencing hearing, Etowah County Circuit Judge William Cardwell stated that although it was challenging to order a young man’s execution, the shooting death was obviously planned and executed in a certain way.
West’s girlfriend was also accused of the murder by the prosecution. She was given a sentence of 35 years in jail after entering a guilty plea.
Last year, Alabama became the first state to use nitrogen gas for executions, which entails pumping nitrogen through a face mask while denying the prisoner oxygen.
Six executions have already taken place using this technique, five in Alabama and one in Louisiana. Another nitrogen execution is planned for August in Alabama.
After the process was approved by state lawmakers, West was among a number of prisoners in Alabama who chose nitrogen as their preferred method of death. Prior to Alabama creating protocols for the approach, he made the choice.
