People v. Upton

Following a jury trial, defendant was found guilty of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated battery and armed violence. He was sentenced to concurrent terms of six years for attempted murder and armed violence and two years for aggravated battery. On appeal, defendant contends that the trial court committed reversible error in refusing to instruct the jury on the offense of reckless conduct and in barring him from testifying as to his state of mind at the time of the offenses.

The charges arose out of the shooting of Michael King on November 16, 1988. At trial, King testified that at…