JONESBORO, Ark. — A man who has spent nearly 15 years in prison after being convicted of killing three suburban Memphis boys took the stand for the first time Thursday, insisting that he was innocent and that his lawyers ignored his alibis.

Jason Baldwin, 31, said he told his lawyers repeatedly during his 1994 trial that he wanted to testify about his whereabouts in May 1993 when 8-year-olds Michael Moore, Stephen Branch and Christopher Byers and until their bodies were found in a ditch.

Baldwin said his lawyer Paul Ford "just shrugged me off."

Baldwin was tried along with Damien Echols, and both were convicted of three counts of capital murder. Baldwin received life in prison without parole while Echols was sentenced to death. A third co-defendant, Jessie Misskelley Jr., was tried separately, convicted of murder and sentenced to life plus 40 years.

All three have appealed their convictions. State Circuit Judge David Burnett began a hearing Wednesday on arguments from new lawyers for Baldwin and Misskelley to void the convictions and sentences, based on claims of ineffective counsel during their trials.

Baldwin, who was 16 at the time, said he wondered why his lawyers did not present phone records showing that his mother called him at home on the evening of the killings.

He also said his lawyers did not present evidence of his whereabouts the day the boys disappeared. Baldwin said he was at school that day, mowed his uncle's lawn and played video games at a Wal-Mart store, then went home and took care of his younger brother.

"I would tell them (his lawyers) every time. There are people who know where I was on May 5 and May 6," Baldwin said.

Ford, the lawyer, testified that he was diligent in representing Baldwin. He said he did not believe Baldwin's mother, uncle or others would make good witnesses, even though he believed that Baldwin did not commit the crimes.