Blunt urged to commute Skillicorn's death sentence

ST. LOUIS  — An anti-death penalty group is asking Gov. Matt Blunt to commute the death sentence for convicted killer Dennis Skillicorn.

Skillicorn is scheduled to die by injection on Aug. 27 for the 1994 murder of Richard Drummond. It would be the first execution in Missouri in nearly three years as concerns have been raised about the state's method of lethal injection.

The petition from Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty notes that Skillicorn was not the shooter and was not present when Drummond was shot.

The other death row inmate convicted in the crime, Allen Nicklasson, says Skillicorn wasn't even aware that Nicklasson planned to kill Drummond.

The petition also says that Skillicorn has worked hard to rehabilitate himself and others while in prison.