The Death Row Priest

Authored by Randy Tatano via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.”

It’s what Catholics say at the beginning of confession.

But few priests have listened to the kind of sins like those Father Pat Madden has heard.

That’s because his “parish” (if you want to call it that), consists of the men on Alabama’s death row.

Father Pat, as he’s known in the area, recently retired after 42 years from St. Maurice Church in Brewton, Alabama. But he continues to preach the gospel, celebrate Mass, and minister to those facing execution at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama.

He’s been visiting the Catholics in prison as a volunteer at Holman and nearby Fountain Correctional since 2002, but in September he had a new experience. “I’ve been doing the regular ministry for a long time, but it’s only been about a year now that I’ve really dealt with a prisoner who had an execution date and wanted me to be there in the execution chamber.”

In this case, Geoffrey Todd West was the inmate who wanted spiritual guidance. He was convicted in the 1997 capital murder of Margaret Parrish Berry, a store clerk who was the mother of two sons. At the time, prosecutors called this an execution-style killing as Berry was shot in the back of the head while lying on the floor. West was 21 at the time.

And, at the age of 50, he turned to God.

Though it is common for prisoners to claim they’ve found religion in an effort to get parole or a reduced sentence, Father Pat says this wasn’t the case for West. “There were no appeals left. He had no incentive, legally, to develop a deeper spiritual life. This was personal, a way in which to be reconciled with the family that he had committed that murder to and also to his family and himself.”

West started coming to Father Pat’s services about a year ago.

“He was interested in getting more deeply spiritual in his life and helping him to survive the experience of death row life. Later on, after I met him, that’s when he received his date to be executed. During that time, he had become Catholic, studied about the church, and joined the church.” While the specifics of confessions are sealed by the Catholic Church, Father Pat says West showed remorse for his actions. He baptized West this spring.

In Alabama, the condemned prisoner has a choice as to the method of execution: electrocution, lethal injection, or nitrogen hypoxia. West chose the latter. He would breathe pure nitrogen which would deprive his body of oxygen.

And, on Sept. 25, 2025, Father Pat Madden would be with him until the end.

11 a.m.: Father Pat arrives at the prison and meets with West and family members. They talk and pray until lunch arrives. The prisoner’s last meal request: quesadillas from Taco Bell. They all have lunch and continue their visit.

3:30 p.m.: West says goodbye to his parents and family members who leave. Father Pat and West’s lawyers remain.

4:20 p.m.: West is taken to his death row cell.

4:30 p.m.: Father Pat is taken to West’s cell. They spend the next hour talking and praying. “And that was a good time together of prayer, and he was able to really be in a better place.” He administers the Last Rites to West.

Approximately 6 p.m.: Father Pat is taken to a place few members of the clergy have been. “I was brought into the execution chamber. And we had talked earlier about the process of how the gas works and how this is his choice to be gassed and to die.” The priest and prison guards are the only ones in the chamber along with West. “We had eye contact during that time. And I often made a motion of pointing to heaven. He’s all strapped in, with each arm out, his legs together and wrapped with a sheet. He was very secure, and they had the gas mask on when I was brought in.”

While family members and media are allowed to witness the execution from an adjoining room, West could not see them through the one-way glass in the chamber. So he locked eyes with Father Pat. “He could see me through the whole thing. And I think that, for me, that’s what my job was. To be a prayer partner and somebody who was in the chamber that he could look at and know I represented his family. I think that gave him some peace and some comfort.”

The execution took about 20 minutes. Father Pat says West remained calm through it all. He didn’t cry, didn’t look scared. “There was no fighting or thrashing. He allowed it to happen, and he just went to sleep. So he would be taking some breaths, as he was unconscious, and that would slow down and slow down, and eventually, nothing.”

After the execution, Father Pat went home and watched a little TV to take his mind off what he had just seen. But the memory of what he experienced will linger. “I’ve got that image of him there, laying dead on the gurney with his arms out, and that'll stay with me. But having that other experience of providing comfort to him, that’s where I’m going to put all my energy.”

So, is West in paradise or condemned to eternal damnation after breaking the commandment “Thou shalt not kill”? Father Pat has some thoughts on that. “I'd say that there’s two kinds of experiences when somebody commits murder. There’s a person who is caught up in drugs or whatever, some addiction. And then there’s those that really have evil and selfish intent to harm others and to kill others. That’s a whole different thing. But everything lays in God’s heart and hand. At one point, Geoffrey was talking about how he looked forward going to heaven and just sitting in the lap of God, being alone with God and letting God take care of his sins, his crimes, and all the things he’s regretting over through his life. And, you know, that healed him, and he was looking forward to that.”

Opinions on capital punishment have always been strong and divided. As it turns out, the son of the victim did not want to see West executed. Depending on your point of view, this story has elements of justice or compassion, remorse or closure, confession or forgiveness. But from Father Pat’s perspective, he’s simply fulfilling his duty as a priest, and leaving the final judgment up to God.