ST. LOUIS (AP) – The oldest man on death row in Missouri is scheduled for execution next month for killing a deputy sheriff.

The Missouri Supreme Court on Friday set an execution date of March 17 for 74-year-old Cecil Clayton.

Barry County Deputy Christopher Castetter, a 29-year-old father of three, was killed the day before Thanksgiving in 1996. Castetter went to Clayton’s home near Cassville to check on a suspicious vehicle report. The deputy was shot once in the head before he got out of his car.

Clayton became Missouri’s oldest death row inmate in November when 75-year-old Kenneth Baumruk died of natural causes. Baumruk was awaiting execution for killing his wife and injuring four others during a 1992 shooting rampage at the St. Louis County Courthouse.