Harley Parsons ? a Winfield man sentenced to 25 years for shooting and attempting to kill his wife ? died in an Oklahoma correctional facility Monday, prison officials said.
Parsons, 88, was being housed at the Lexington Correctional Center in Lexington, Okla. when he died. He was nearing the completion of his second year in prison after being convicted and sentenced in June 2007.
Parsons was convicted by a judge of attempting to kill his wife, Barbara, on Sept. 14, 2006 in Ponca City. He waived his right to a jury trial and let a Kay County judge decide his fate.
Mr. Parsons testified on his own behalf and claimed the shooting ? which occurred in the couple’s car during a trip south to eat at a restaurant ? was an accident. But Barbara Parsons and her children told the court that Harley Parsons could be a violent man and had struck his wife in the past.
Barbara Parsons was shot twice with a pistol, but survived. She said she believed her husband would "finish the job" if he were ever released from prison.
The couple were married for more than 63 years.
