Convicted Killer of Dallas-Area Police Officer Set to Die

Kent Sprouse acknowledged almost immediately after he was arrested more than a decade ago that he killed a police officer and another man outside a Dallas-area convenience store, reports the Associated Press .

No new appeals are pending as Sprouse's lethal injection scheduled for Thursday evening approaches. He would be the fifth inmate executed this year in Texas, the nation's most active death penalty state.

Sprouse was convicted of the 2002 death of Ferris Police Officer Harry Marvin "Marty" Steinfeldt III, who was shot outside the Ferris Food Mart about 20 miles south of Dallas. Steinfeldt, 28, was responding to a 911 call about a customer shot outside the store.

As Steinfeldt drove up, he was met with gunfire and hit twice under the arm where his vest did not protect him. He managed to fire 17 shots and wound Sprouse in the chest, leg and hand.