Both the state and defense rested Wednesday in the sentencing phase of John Franklin Howard's attempted capital murder trial.
The Ponder man was convicted Tuesday of the crime after a two-week trial at the Denton County Courthouse.
The prosecution said Howard was behind the 2012 shooting of his now ex-wife Nancy Howard in their Carrollton driveway. They claimed an affair John Franklin Howard was having with another woman led him to seek out and pay multiple people to kill Nancy Howard.
Nancy Howard lost her left eye and suffered brain damage in the shooting but has mostly recovered and was in the courtroom to see her ex-husband convicted.
She also took the stand Tuesday to start the sentencing phase by telling jurors of the pain and suffering she has experienced as a result of the shooting and the crime Howard stands convicted of.
On Wednesday morning, Richard Raley, Howard's former business partner took the stand to detail millions of dollars he claims John Franklin Howard stole from him during the three years he's accused of plotting the murder-for-hire.
After the prosecution rested, the defense called John Franklin Howard's father and three adult children to speak on his behalf.
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Howard's children all called him a good father who they said has done everything he could throughout the process to continue providing for them and Nancy Howard.
Their testimony ended with son Jay Howard asking jurors to show his father grace and give him a chance to meet his future grandchildren one day.
The trial will resume Thursday with closing arguments in the sentencing before the jury decides what John Franklin Howard's punishment will be.
The maximum penalty would put him in prison for the rest of his life.
