Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption
Jennifer Thompson-Cannino · Ronald Cotton · Erin Torneo
Jan 2010 · Sold by St. Martin's Press
4.7star
33 reviews
Ebook
304
Pages
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About this ebook
The New York Times best selling true story of an unlikely friendship forged between a woman and the man she incorrectly identified as her rapist and sent to prison for 11 years.
Jennifer Thompson was raped at knifepoint by a man who broke into her apartment while she slept. She was able to escape, and eventually positively identified Ronald Cotton as her attacker. Ronald insisted that she was mistaken-- but Jennifer's positive identification was the compelling evidence that put him behind bars.
After eleven years, Ronald was allowed to take a DNA test that proved his innocence. He was released, after serving more than a decade in prison for a crime he never committed. Two years later, Jennifer and Ronald met face to face-- and forged an unlikely friendship that changed both of their lives.
With Picking Cotton, Jennifer and Ronald tell in their own words the harrowing details of their tragedy, and challenge our ideas of memory and judgment while demonstrating the profound nature of human grace and the healing power of forgiveness.
Jennifer Thompson was raped at knifepoint by a man who broke into her apartment while she slept. She was able to escape, and eventually positively identified Ronald Cotton as her attacker. Ronald insisted that she was mistaken-- but Jennifer's positive identification was the compelling evidence that put him behind bars.
After eleven years, Ronald was allowed to take a DNA test that proved his innocence. He was released, after serving more than a decade in prison for a crime he never committed. Two years later, Jennifer and Ronald met face to face-- and forged an unlikely friendship that changed both of their lives.
With Picking Cotton, Jennifer and Ronald tell in their own words the harrowing details of their tragedy, and challenge our ideas of memory and judgment while demonstrating the profound nature of human grace and the healing power of forgiveness.
Ratings and reviews
4.7
33 reviews
A Google user
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I haven't read the book but really need too. But I can tell you I see Ronald Cotton often and have become friends with him. This story is real and Ronald doesn't begrudge anyone or place blame for his false conviction. He remains to be a gentleman and treats all as his friends from the moment of hello. I'm not a reader but I am going to read this one just to support someone I look up too.
A Google user
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January 31, 2011
Thank you to a blogger who recently reviewed this book, I am sorry I can't remember where I found it. A great read about a young woman who was burglarized and raped in the middle of the night in her college apartment. She went on to identify her attacker who was sentenced to life in prison. After 11 years, a simple DNA test set him free. Now the victim and accuser are friends, yep, crazy - but this makes the book a great read - to find out how it all happens.
When I read the review on the other blog, I was drawn in by the story because it is such a heinous crime, but the ending is very positive. Then I found out where this crime took place - my alma mater Elon University. I couldn't believe that I had never heard this story and I bumped the book to the top of my list.
Written from both of the perspectives of the victim - Jennifer and the accused - Ronald, this book overlaps with their viewpoints which I absolutely loved. I enjoyed being in the courtroom in Jennifer's shoes and hearing the verdict and then going back in time through the trial again in Ronald's shoes.
I would recommend this book to all of my readers who love non-fiction and especially those who may have a connection to North Carolina or Elon.
A Google user
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October 6, 2012
I've known Ronald Cotton since 1995 thru a mutual.friend and his humble and quiet yet humorous attitude is an inspiration after knowing all he has been through. I lived in Elon as well, and Jennifers story is scary. I'm glad they all found justice. Another good exhonerated story is "stolen time" by Sunny Jacobs.
About the author
JENNIFER THOMPSON-CANNINO lives in North Carolina with her family. She speaks frequently about the need for judicial reform, and is a member of the North Carolina Actual Innocence Commission, the advisory committee for Active Voices, and the Constitution Project. Her op-eds have appeared in the New York Times, the Durham-Herald Sun, and the Tallahassee Democrat.
RONALD COTTON lives with his wife and daughter in North Carolina. He has spoken at various schools and conferences including Washington and Lee University, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Georgetown Law School, and the Community March for Justice for Troy Anthony Davis in Savannah, GA.
ERIN TORNEO is a Los Angeles-based writer. She was a 2007 New York Foundation for the Arts Nonfiction Fellow.
The authors received the 2008 Soros Justice Media Fellowship for PICKING COTTON.
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