Texas to execute ex-cop for hiring 2 people to kill wife

By JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) — A former suburban Houston police officer is set to be executed for hiring two people to kill his estranged wife nearly 30 years ago. Robert Fratta was to receive a lethal injection Tuesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was condemned for the November 1994 fatal shooting of his wife, Farah, amid a contentious divorce and custody fight for their three children. Prosecutors say Fratta organized the murder-for-hire plot in which a middleman hired the shooter. Farah Fratta was shot in her home’s garage. While the U.S. Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to stop his execution, a judge ordered the state to not use expired execution drugs. Prison officials say they are appealing the ruling and Fratta’s execution is still set for Tuesday.