Olathe ? After all of her husband’s affairs, previous prison sentences and two convictions for capital murder, Nancy Robinson is still standing by her man.

She testified Thursday, pleading with jurors to sentence John Robinson to life in prison instead of death for the murders of two women whose bodies were found in barrels on his property. The punishment phase of John Robinson’s trial began Thursday.

John Robinson has been a devoted father and grandfather for 38 years, his wife testified, though the trial and convictions were nearly more than the family could stand.

“It’s devastating. Absolutely devastating,” she told jurors.

John Robinson, 58, of Olathe was convicted Tuesday of capital murder in the slayings of Suzette Trouten, 27, of Newport, Mich., and Izabela Lewicka, 21, a former Purdue University student from West Lafayette, Ind.

Their bodies were discovered on June 3, 2000, inside 85-gallon barrels on Robinson’s rural property in Linn County.

He also was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Lisa Stasi, 19, whose body never has been found.

Defense attorneys said they would present only a handful of witnesses, but none who will speak to John Robinson’s mental health. Two witnesses Thursday afternoon testified that he would not be a risk to cause violence while in prison, based on his age and good conduct during five years in Kansas and Missouri prisons from 1987 to 1992.

Sean O’Brien, lead attorney for the defense, asked Judge John Anderson III to grant a continuance so that the defense would have more time to delve into John Robinson’s psychological history.

“We’re just not prepared to present that kind of evidence,” O’Brien said.

Robinson was on suicide watch in jail for most of his trial.

Anderson denied the motions, reiterating previous rulings that any delays or lack of preparation were related to the defendant’s desire to change attorneys midway through the two-year case.

Jurors were expected to begin deliberating the penalty phase by the weekend.

During her emotional testimony, Nancy Robinson said the couple’s grandchildren were a major part of her husband’s life.

She said her husband’s arrest was particularly tough on an 8-year-old granddaughter, who spent extended hours each week at their Olathe home.

Robinson still faces trial in Missouri on charges of killing two women and a girl whose bodies were found in barrels in a storage locker in Raymore, Mo.

Under Kansas law, capital murder trials are divided into two phases. After a conviction, prosecutors present evidence why the aggravating circumstances of the crimes merit death, while defense attorneys argue that mitigating circumstances justify a sentence of life in prison without parol.

Johnson County Dist. Atty. Paul Morrison did not present a case for the penalty phase.