That much was clear from the start.

Mr. English was hired in 2010, after Mr. McCoy had fired his public defenders and was seeking to represent himself. He had been charged with killing his mother-in-law, Christine Colston Young; her husband, Willie Ray Young; and her grandson Gregory Lee Colston, 17.

“Anybody representing themselves in a death penalty case is guaranteeing a death sentence,” Mr. English said. “I knew Robert and I knew his family, and he needed my help.”

About a month before the trial, Mr. English told Mr. McCoy that the case was unwinnable because of the evidence the prosecution had against him, including that when Mr. McCoy was discovered, the gun used in the killings was under a seat of the vehicle he was traveling in.

Also, in a 911 recording, Ms. Colston Young could be heard telling “Robert” that her daughter was with the police, before a gunshot rang out and the call ended. A car registered to Mr. McCoy and his estranged wife was spotted leaving the scene by the police, and the phone Ms. Colston Young had used to call the police was found in the vehicle.

Mr. English urged Mr. McCoy to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison. Mr. McCoy maintained his innocence, saying that he wanted to mount a defense that he was out of town at the time of the murders and was framed by the police because he knew they were running a drug trafficking ring. Mr. English said it was Mr. McCoy’s delusions of a grand conspiracy that made his client unable to participate in his defense and that led him to believe he had no choice but to try to save his client’s life.