death row inmate gets a new trial

HOUSTON - A new trial date has been set for a man who was on Texas
death row for masterminding the killing of his wife. Robert Fratta's
conviction for orchestrating the crime was tossed out by an appeals
court last summer, KPRC Local 2 reported Friday.

Fratta, 51, has been on death row for a dozen years. His wife, Farah
Fratta, 33, was shot and killed in her garage on Nov. 9, 1994. She
was the mother of three children, who were 3, 6 and 8 years old at
the time of her death.

Robert Fratta was convicted of capital murder. Two other men were
also convicted of being paid to carry out the crime and sent to death
row.

James Wrytting was Robert Fratta's appellate attorney. He said it
took him years, but he finally succeeded in convincing a federal
court that the original trial was extremely flawed.

"One co-defendant' s testimony was taken -- included being taken out
of jail in the middle of the night. There's claims that others were
physically coerced," Wrytting said.

Defense attorneys also never got the chance to cross-examine the
accused hit men.

"This new trial is completely preposterous. We'll have to face this
all over again. He should have been on the gurney a long time ago,"
said Lex Baquer, Farah Fratta's father.

Robert Fratta's new capital murder trial is set for March 20.

As for the other two defendants, Howard Guidry was re-tried,
convicted and sent to death row in 2007. Joseph Prystash also sits on
death row, but his case is being reviewed by an appeals court.

Robert Fratta is a former Missouri City public safety officer.

http://www.msnbc. msn.com/id/ 28474101/