JONESBORO, Ark.—A former lawyer for a man convicted of killing three West Memphis boys 15 years ago testified Wednesday that he knew of people who could have provided proof of his client’s innocence but he did not call them as witnesses.

Paul Ford, who represented Jason Baldwin at his 1994 trial, said that while Baldwin’s mother and an uncle could have provided an alibi for Baldwin, they would not have made good witnesses.

Ford spoke Wednesday at a hearing in Craighead County Circuit Court before Judge David Burnett on whether Baldwin received adequate legal representation during his 1994 trial in Jonesboro.

Baldwin, now 31, was convicted of capital murder in the deaths of 8-year-olds Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Ford said he was also aware that school officials or students could have testified that Baldwin, then 16, was in school the day of the crime. But they would not have been able to account for the evening hours when the state says the 8-year-olds were killed, Ford said.

New lawyers for Baldwin are asking Burnett to void their client’s conviction and penalty.

The judge has set aside four days for the hearing and plans to take up similar arguments Thursday from lawyers for co-defendant Jessie Misskelley.

Earlier this month, Burnett denied requests for a new trial based on alleged new DNA evidence for Baldwin, Misskelley and Damien Echols. Echols, who was tried with Baldwin and also convicted of capital murder, was the only one of the three to receive the death penalty.

The three, all teenagers at the time, were accused of killing the second graders in a Satanic-like ritual. The boys were last seen riding their bikes May 5, 1993. Their bodies were found in a ditch the next day.

On the stand Wednesday, Ford also said that he was aware that Baldwin’s mother called home the evening of the boys’ deaths and that Baldwin also supposedly had telephone conversations with two friends that night. But Ford said he did not pursue the telephone records to help establish Baldwin’s whereabouts.

Ford said he believed Baldwin was innocent and he still does, describing Baldwin as an intelligent and gentle person. During Wednesday’s hearing, Baldwin sat at the defense table, alert and attentive to the proceedings. When Ford said he believed Baldwin was innocent, the two made eye contact and nodded.

Before allowing the testimony, the judge agreed with the state that only one of six claims Baldwin made—the claim of ineffectual counsel—could be considered under his petition for relief.

The state also argued in a written response that Baldwin’s claim of ineffective counsel has no merit and amounts to a disagreement over “strategic decisions about what witnesses should have been called.”