Cotton v. State

The appellant, John Douglas Cotton, was convicted on two counts of attempted murder in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County. He was sentenced to concurrent terms of 25 years in prison on each count. The appellant now raises eight issues on appeal.

The state's evidence tended to show that on the night of April 4, 1992, the appellant shot the victim, Clark Stankoski, in the chest with a .22 caliber handgun. The bullet entered the victim's chest, splitting into two fragments as it shattered one of his ribs. One fragment punctured the victim's lung and the other fragment punctured his…