JEFFERSON CITY, MO. ? Several religious leaders have asked Gov. Matt Blunt to grant clemency for a man scheduled to be executed Aug. 27.

Dennis Skillicorn would be Missouri’s first execution since 2005. Skillicorn was convicted of killing Richard Drummond in Lafayette County in 1994.

In a letter sent Tuesday to Blunt, the religious leaders argued that Skillicorn “has turned his life around, becoming a model of rehabilitation and service to others.” They asked Blunt to reduce the sentence to a life prison term.

The clemency request was signed by Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Baptist, Quaker and Church of the Brethren leaders.