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Amy Robach
This is an iHeart podcast. Check out the intense new season of Reasonable Doubt, now Streaming on Hulu, L.A.
TJ Holmes
S most successful attorney, Jax Stewart, defends a young actor accused of murder.
Amy Robach
Follow Emma, Yazzie Coronaldi, Morris Chestnut, Joseph Zakora and guest stars Cash Dahl, Lori Harvey and more as they fight their personal battles in the spotlight of the year's most sensational murder trial.
TJ Holmes
In the pursuit of justice, every move counts. Reasonable Doubt, Season 3, now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney for bundle subscribers. Terms apply.
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Amy Robach
A.
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TJ Holmes
It is Friday, September 26th and we here at Amy & TJ don't normally dedicate an episode to an execution that's taking 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&tj bottom line an Execution robes was carried out last night in Alabama and it was against the strong, powerful public pleas of the man whose mother was murdered by this convict. He has been begging the state not to kill this man and Robes last night. They went forward anyway.
Amy Robach
That's right, Jeffrey West. 50 year old Jeffrey west was declared dead at 6:22pm Central Time last night at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility. This happened in Atmore, Alabama. And yes, he was executed using 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.
TJ Holmes
And this 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 1997 who had two sons. One of them was 11 years old at the time. And that 11 year old is now what, in his 30s and has been begging, begging, begging the state not to kill this man. That 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 rolled with, 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. I listened to Will Barry make this case. You couldn't help but feel his pain.
Amy Robach
That's right. 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, 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.
TJ Holmes
I'm on board with 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 11 year old boy who lost his mom and he said this has been the most painful thing that 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.
Amy Robach
Correct. And if this country, our legal system, our 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 and what happens in punishing the person responsible for.
TJ Holmes
Their pain, I'd be on board with that 100%. 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.
Amy Robach
I agree.
TJ Holmes
Be okay with them getting that right. Now, the governor who will Barry appealed 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.
Amy Robach
I could have. I mean, she's saying she couldn't, but she could have. That is just the truth. That is her discretion as governor to make that call. She knows she'd be feeling some heat for it and she knows certain people and a lot of folks might be upset about it, but she still had her. She had the right to make her decision based on her own moral conscience.
TJ Holmes
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?
Amy Robach
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 is 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.
TJ Holmes
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 11, used to 10 years separate them in age.
Amy Robach
Yeah, he was 21 when he committed the crime, when he murdered his mother. So the two men are only 10 years apart.
TJ Holmes
They've been exchanging letters in which Barry extended forgiveness to the man who killed his mother. And west extended an apology. Well, he says 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 think, well, why not? What's the big deal? Well, it is a big deal.
Amy Robach
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.
TJ Holmes
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 spare this man's life and it did not happen. Now we're to going, going to give you a couple of the details. And again, this is, look, this is a year we've had 33 plus executions in this country. That's the highest number we've seen in some 10 plus years and another 9 or 10 scheduled for this year. So we're just on a pace and a lot of it has to do robes with for a while. Some of the drugs were in question and caught up in court. 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 an uptick in some of the options they have. We had, what was it last year, this year? The firing squad.
Amy Robach
Firing squad.
TJ Holmes
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 you, the, your insides being like cryovact, like you're just shrinking. They talk about how painful this could possibly be, we don't obviously know. But last night this all got started right before 6 o' clock and this is how the process, what you've done.
Amy Robach
I have witnessed an execution. I witnessed a lethal injection when I was 23 years old, a man who had been on death row for 27 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. He 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 movies, it happens in real life. The curtain opened at 5:52pm west was situated, 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? And west responded, no sir, he did have.
TJ Holmes
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. We're going to share that in just a moment.
Amy Robach
Yes. So then Wes gave a nod to the priest who was in the room with their, with him, Father Patrick Baden. 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 5:55 the correction officer came in, checked the seal on the gas mask and then Father Madden was able to step in to Wes for a quick prayer. And the folks who 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, west coughed and then gasped and then his head went to the side. He was described as appearing to foam at the mouth. And then it was at 6:01 he started to take deep breaths that turned shallow. Five minutes later, at 6:06, witnesses say his torso pulsed and then he Appeared to stop moving soon after that. At 6:17, the curtains closed.
TJ Holmes
And then we got the official word later that 6:22 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 two years.
Amy Robach
This is the sixth time, I believe.
TJ Holmes
In the past two years. And they say every time the inmate 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.
Amy Robach
Most of the time, that is what happens.
TJ Holmes
They say, no sir. But we always hear about the ones when there is something that they say. Sometimes they say something crazy when there are guys have something to trump.
Amy Robach
Yes, yes.
TJ Holmes
Okay, well, this guy didn't say anything then, but he did have a statement he released. Excuse me, his attorney released on his behalf.
Amy Robach
Can you imagine, I mean, no. What it would be like to know these are the last things coming out of my mouth. You'd want to get it right. So maybe that is why he chose 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. They 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 Mrs. Barry 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 was a creator and a reason for everything. Your choice will determine where you spend eternity. God bless you all.
TJ Holmes
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 account, I say all accounts, at least from the family. Will Barry, he said this was a guy who was on the Right path. And he 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 bad. 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 are 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 mean, I. Yeah.
Amy Robach
Considering the fact that he's 21 years old when he committed the crime. I'm not excusing that, but 21, 21 is a big, big difference than, you know, I wonder if he had been 20 or 19 or 18. I know they can still try you as an adult, but still, he had just entered his first year of official adulthood again.
TJ Holmes
We are not. No one's here to ever make any excuse at all. But it's just interesting to think about. I mean, the people we end up learning most from are the people who have made mistakes, who have screwed up the most. And yes, sometimes people have done horrendous things like this. But to hear his statement and his final thing to say to the earth is that he wished to see. See this woman that he killed. And to talk about forgiveness and encourage others. I. I don't know. I know some people dismiss. I just think it's powerful, it's 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. I don't think we look at it.
Amy Robach
We can learn from this. 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 nephews, like his family, all came to meet with him, which is pretty cool, that there's still a relationship there and that they too saw the value in what he was able to evolve into over the years. His final meal. Everyone always wants to know that. Chicken quesadillas.
TJ Holmes
It's always interesting.
Amy Robach
Yeah, everyone makes a different choice. I would never have picked that one. I never would have guessed that one. How about that?
TJ Holmes
Okay. That's a good way. You expecting a steak and potatoes 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 11 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 happens 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 desperately needed for healing in his life.
Amy Robach
Check out the intense new season of Reasonable Doubt, now streaming on Hulu.
TJ Holmes
LA's most sought after and successful defense attorney, Jax Stewart has seen it all, but now she'll face her toughest case yet when she defends a young actor loved by millions and accused of murder.
Amy Robach
Join Jax as she takes on the district attorney, the press and even her own partners to prove his innocence. The jury's verdict will determine Jax's future and the fate of her client. Follow Emma, Yazzie Coronaldi, Morris Chestnut, Joseph Zakora and guest stars Cash Dahl, Lori Harvey and more as they fight their personal battles in the spotlight of the year's most sensational murder trial.
TJ Holmes
In the pursuit of justice, every move counts. Reasonable Doubt Season 3 now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney for bundled subscribers. Terms apply.
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Paula Ramos
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TJ Holmes
I would be the first immigrant mayor in generations, but 40% of New Yorkers were born outside of this country.
Paula Ramos
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TJ Holmes
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Jorge Ramos
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Amy Robach
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. This was 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 11 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 pleas to the governor and to anyone who would listen unfortunately went unanswered and the execution was carried out last night around 6pm Central Time.
TJ Holmes
They're doing their duty. We're not speaking as anyone here who has. We think they did something wrong in terms of the case, in terms of the law 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 11 years old. And so now it's gone. The opportunity is gone. That just sucks for him.
Amy Robach
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?
TJ Holmes
He said that this week on the steps of the Capitol. They were there delivering a petition saying, pledge, please spare his life.
Amy Robach
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. That is remarkable.
TJ Holmes
You could understand a tendency to look at the family and go and hate them like you raised 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. There is a certain level of faith in people that I think allows for this type of forgiveness, this type role. We're not saying, I'm sorry or I forgive you for stealing my candy out of the drawer. We're not saying, I'm sorry for breaking my heart. We're not saying, listen, you murdered somebody. That was everything to me. And I forgive you. Jesus.
Amy Robach
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 then offer condolences. I thought that was incredible. Incredibly powerful.
TJ Holmes
So I. For us and for this story, there are just lessons here. And there have been several of these lately. Like, I just don't know. When I heard Erica Kirk. I think Erica Kirk had a lot of people thinking about forgiveness.
Amy Robach
Yes.
TJ Holmes
Not something to that level, of course, what was taken from her, but all in our lives. And this was a story where these people were talking to each other 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.
Amy Robach
Yeah. And Will Barry 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 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.
TJ Holmes
You just nailed it. All right. That's it right there. That's. 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 in 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 representative. Stop.
Amy Robach
Or a former FBI director.
TJ Holmes
We gotta. 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 thank Will Barry for being willing to share so publicly what he's been going through.
Amy Robach
Yeah. Will Barry, Erica Kirk, thank you for being bright lights in an otherwise pretty dark couple of weeks. So 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 Robach alongside TJ Holmes and have a great day everybody.
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Paula Ramos
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Amy Robach
Do you want to hear the secrets of psychopaths, murderers, sex offenders? In this episode, I offer tips from them. I'm Dr. Leslie, forensic psychologist. This is a podcast where I cut through the noise with real talk. When you were described to me as a forensic psychologist, I was like, snooze. We ended up talking for hours and I was like, this girl is my best friend. Let's talk about safety and strategies to protect yourself and your loved ones. Listen to Intentionally disturbing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
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TJ Holmes
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Amy Robach
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Podcast: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present
Release Date: September 26, 2025
Hosts: Amy Robach and TJ Holmes
Episode Focus: An in-depth, emotional discussion on the controversial execution of Jeffrey West—the man convicted of murdering Margaret Parish Barry in 1997—particularly emphasizing the extraordinary actions and forgiveness exhibited by the victim’s son, Will Barry.
Amy Robach and TJ Holmes dedicate this episode to the recent execution of Jeffrey West in Alabama, crystallizing the heartbreak and legal/moral tensions when the victim’s family—in this case, Will Barry, the murdered woman’s son—publicly begs for the killer’s life to be spared. The conversation unpacks questions of justice, state power, forgiveness, and the purpose of punishment.
Jeffrey West’s Final Statement (Read at 13:54):
Will Barry’s Statement After the Execution (Read at 22:24):
Episode Title Quote – Will Barry (22:08):
The conversation is empathetic, introspective, and frequently emotional, as the hosts wrestle with questions far deeper than legal protocol or politics. Will Barry’s striking example of forgiveness—and his refusal to endorse the state’s vengeance on his mother’s murderer—serves as the episode’s moral anchor, urging listeners to re-examine justice, faith, and healing. The hosts close with a challenge for society to learn from the grace extended in the most painful situations, holding it up as an example for both individuals and leaders.
For listeners and non-listeners alike: This episode shines light on the transformative and disruptive power of forgiveness, the limitations of traditional justice, and the intense humanity often obscured by headlines and rhetoric. It offers a heartfelt, nuanced alternative to the typical crime-and-punishment narrative, encouraging reflection on redemption, mercy, and what it means to truly move forward.