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Cotton v. State

The trial court properly declined to charge the jury on defense of others, since there was no evidence that the defendant killed his sister's boyfriend in defense of his sister or any other third party.

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Dustin James Cotton was tried by a Clayton County jury and convicted of murder and other crimes in connection with the fatal stabbing of Tyriss Turner. Cotton appeals, contending that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence. Cotton also asserts that the trial court erred when it denied his motion for pretrial immunity, when it admitted evidence of incriminating messages that he sent through Facebook, and when it refused his request to charge the jury on defense of others. We see no error, and we affirm.1

1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows that Cotton had a home in Pennsylvania, but in July 2011, Cotton was living with Turner, Turner’s six year old daughter, and Cotton’s sister who was also Turner’s girlfriend in Turner’s apartment near Jonesboro. On the evening of July 30, Turner and Cotton’s sister got into an argument that escalated into a physical altercation. Cotton intervened and fought with Turner in the living room of the apartment. Cotton pushed Turner into a lamp, went into the kitchen, returned to the living room with a knife, and stabbed Turner in the chest in the presence of Turner’s young daughter. Cotton then fled the scene and went back to Pennsylvania. Cotton’s sister took Turner to the hospital, where Turner later succumbed to his wounds.

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