UPDATE: 5:30 p.m.
McDaniel continued questioning Buford after the lunch break, asking him about the state of his health.
Buford said while he remembered McDaniel lost a substantial amount of weight in jail and spent most of his time in the infirmary, there were concerns that he was faking illness.
Buford said a psychological evaluation was never performed on McDaniel during his verbally unresponsive state. He said as time went on, McDaniel became more and more responsive during the legal process.
Buford said there were small disagreements in legal strategy between McDaniel and himself.
He explained while him and Hogue took McDaniel’s notes and suggestions into consideration, it was from the point of view of a law student, not an experienced lawyer, and thus not lucrative in trial court.
Through it all, Buford said he was in McDaniel’s ‘corner’ and thought he was innocent.
But last-minute evidence of crude and violent web searches, possession of child pornography, and McDaniel’s haunting confession made that hard to believe.
Buford said him and Hogue were shocked at his confession, as it came suddenly. He went on to say McDaniel's confession was his own decision.
Buford said while they did not look into McDaniel’s legal research being intercepted, nor consider his health, they knocked a death penalty case down to a life sentence with the possibility of parole for McDaniel.
McDaniel’s indictment for child pornography was thrown out as a part of McDaniel’s plea agreement.
Hamilton questioned Buford next, asking him to describe working with McDaniel.
Buford said McDaniel was 'socially awkward' but intelligent.
Buford ended his testimony Friday afternoon. Trial proceedings will continue at a later date, with Hogue's testimony.
Richmond County Courthouse, 2 p.m.
Confessed murderer Stephen McDaniel went before a Richmond County judge in Augusta, Georgia to argue for a new trial Friday.
McDaniel pleaded guilty in 2014 to murdering and dismembering his neighbor and Mercer Law School classmate Lauren Giddings in 2011. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
In February, McDaniel filed a 73-page document in Richmond County Superior Court, arguing that his constitutional rights were violated throughout the investigation and pre-trial process.
In shackles and a white jumpsuit, McDaniel represented himself before Judge John Flythe.
PHOTOS: Stephen McDaniel in court (8/17/18)
He argued investigators on the scene documented that he was verbally unresponsive and 'staring off into space,' and did not allow him to be cleared by medical staff before asking for consent to search his apartment, where investigators gathered evidence they planned to use against him in trial.
He argued this, in addition to his former attorneys' failure to dispute the matter in court, caused him to have an improper trial.
Although McDaniel planned to question more than a dozen witnesses according to court documents, only three out of five people subpoenaed showed up.
Subpoenas were served to McDaniel's former lawyers Frank Hogue and Floyd Buford, Macon District Attorney David Cooke, Assistant District Attorney Nancy Scott Malcor, and photographer Woody Marshall.
Marshall's subpoena was quashed, and Cooke was not present. Hogue, Buford, and Malcor were also subpoenaed by Attorney Daniel Hamilton, who is arguing against McDaniel.
McDaniel also argued his legal research was intercepted by the District Attorney's office.
But in her testimony, Malcor said although she was aware of McDaniel's legal research, she did not read, see or have any interest in it.
Malcor did say the account of McDaniel's transient state at the time would've 'absolutely' been turned over to the court.
Hamilton questioned Malcor, running through McDaniel's indictments and recounting details of the case.
McDaniel asked Buford about his transient state, and Buford said McDaniel was verbally unresponsive when he was first hired to represent him.
An effort was made to contact Cooke, but Judge Flythe explained to McDaniel his subpoena was for production of evidence, not for Cooke himself.
Judge Flythe went on to say the court had all the necessary documents and McDaniel agreed that Malcor would speak in his place.
This is a developing story, check back with 13WMAZ for updates.