Attorneys seek to continue execution stay

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The Missouri Supreme Court is being asked to postpone setting an execution date for convicted murderer Dennis Skillicorn.

A motion filed Thursday asks the court to extend the current stay of execution. Skillicorn's attorneys claim the Missouri Department of Corrections continues to block access to witnesses they want to interview at the prison.

Last month, the court postponed the state's first scheduled execution in three years after Skillicorn's attorneys claimed prison officials obstructed their efforts to prepare a clemency petition.

Corrections has denied that the prison obstructed clemency interviews. The department did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Friday.