Earl Wesley Berry was born on May 5, 1959, in Mississippi. He had a difficult childhood. As a young boy, he showed signs of being disturbed and struggled with mental health issues. Court testimony later revealed that he was a suicidal young man. At one point, Berry even attempted to swallow a razor blade. These struggles led to him spending time in mental institutions due to paranoid schizophrenia.

Earl Wesley Berry was convicted of the murder of Mary Bounds that took place on November 29, 1987. Mary Bounds was kidnapped after leaving a church choir practice. She was taken to a secluded area, where Berry beat her to death. Berry later admitted that he had intended to commit rape but changed his mind. He confessed to having driven her to a second location where he used his fists to strike her multiple times, causing her death from severe head injuries.

After the murder, Berry used his grandmother’s car to leave the scene. He disposed of a pair of mismatched tennis shoes and burned his bloodied clothes. To cover up his actions, he wiped down the car with a towel and discarded it in a nearby pond. A few days later, his brother noticed Berry’s suspicious behavior and reported it to the police. Berry was arrested on December 6, 1987, at his grandmother’s home. He soon confessed to the crime during the investigation.

The police recovered the discarded tennis shoes and the blood-stained towel from the pond. Berry was indicted for kidnapping and capital murder and was sentenced to death by a Chickasaw County jury. He expressed no remorse for the crime, stating that he felt he had paid for it after spending 21 years in prison.

Berry's execution was initially scheduled for October 30, 2007, but it was delayed by the U.S. Supreme Court due to a legal issue regarding lethal injection. On May 21, 2008, the Supreme Court denied further appeals to stop his execution.

On the day of his execution, he was described as serious, understanding that his time was short. Before his execution, he had his last meal, which included barbecue pork chops and pecan pie. He did not make any last phone calls or requests for a shower. His final words were "No Comment." Berry was pronounced dead by lethal injection at 6:15 p.m. on May 21, 2008.