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In their own words, Jennifer and Ronald unfold 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.
In July 1984, Thompson-Cannino, a white college student in Burlington, N.C., was raped by a black intruder. She identified her assailant in a lineup as Cotton; he was sentenced to life plus 50 years. When he secured a new trial in 1987, he found himself charged with a second attack and sentenced to two life sentences plus 54 years. DNA evidence at a new trial, eight years later, exonerated him of both charges. Authors Thompson-Cannino and Cotton offer this riveting account of their separate, yet connected, lives through those years. The first two parts describe their dreadful experiences: for her, in the "[s]aliva swabs, vaginal swabs, pubic hair combings" of the rape kit; for him, being "sprayed like a dog getting defleaed" at the prison. Thompson-Cannino describes the invasive procedures following a rape, unsettling police procedures (the lineup), unfamiliar legal stages (such as a probable cause hearing) and the disturbing trial. Cotton leads readers through the events following a conviction (the several prisons, adjustments to the prison norm, the alternating hope and despair of the judicial stages). Redemption is the subject of the third part, where Thompson-Cannino and Cotton forge a path to genuine friendship in advocating for the wrongfully convicted. Together they have produced a well-modulated and generously balanced memoir-at once a devastating and uplifting crash course in the criminal justice system. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.September 2006
Ronald Cotton stands a few rows behind Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, watching as she cranes her head through the crowd, looking for him among the faces of the parents who have come out to watch their children play soccer. All of the fields at Northeast Park in Gibsonville, North Carolina, are occupied on this bright autumn afternoon: It’s tournament day, with a parking lot crammed full of yellow school buses, SUVs, and station wagons to prove it.
"Where are you?" she says into her cell phone, unable to find him.
"I’m right here," Ron says, enjoying the joke. Then he reaches out and touches Jennifer’s arm, causing her to turn and jump. "It’s so good to see you," she says, laughing and moving close to embrace him. "You’d think I would’ve spotted you!" Wearing a blue baseball hat, Ron at six foot four towers over her. He’s got to lean waay down to hug Jennifer, a tiny blonde with bobbed hair. The sun catches the sterling medallion he always wears around his neck: an eagle in flight.
Ron immediately gets into the game. "C’mon! Don’t let ’em take that ball!" he shouts, clapping his hands.
Beside him, Raven, his nine- year- old daughter in neat braids he helped do that morning, shoots him a look. "Daddy!"
"What? Am I embarrassing you?" She nods, which only makes Ron yell louder. "Let’s go!"
He is cheering on Jennifer’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Brittany, who plays center-midfield, the link between offense and defense. Her brown ponytail bopping behind her, she keeps her cleats close to the ball, switch- backing across the field to try to keep it away from the other side until she’s got a clear path to pass it to her fellow players. When she sees her opening, Brittany makes a strong, sure kick and sends the ball to her teammate, who takes off for the goal. The crowd yells for the black and white ball to make it into the net as if nothing could matter more.
The Reds, Brittany’s team, win the first game of the tournament, and then they break for lunch. Brittany, spotting Ron and Raven with her mom, jogs over and hugs them both, happy they are there. The four of them head over with the other parents to the park’s pavilion. With his Burger King bags picked up from the drive- in, Ron isn’t part of the usual soccer parent crowd: moms like Jennifer who unpack neatly prepared sandwiches and snacks from Tupperware and coolers. After the kids eat, Brittany heads off to the grass to show Raven how to kick straight and dribble, while Jennifer and Ron catch up. One nosy mom can’t resist and comes over to say hello.
"Jennifer, Brittany was just great today!" she says. "Too bad your husband missed it. Where is he?" "He’s with my son, doing ‘guy stuff,’ but they should be here any minute," says Jennifer.
The mother’s eyes dart over to Ron and back to Jennifer. She can’t figure it out. "So how do y’all know each other?" the mom says, motioning to Ron.
Jennifer and Ron look at each other, smiling. They let the moment settle between them, hanging in the air like the sweet green smell of freshly cut grass, ready for hordes of high school girls to trample it.
"We go way back," Ron says, in his characteristic way of understating things.
What they don’t say is that twenty- two years ago, Jennifer sat in a jail house just five miles down the interstate, looked at seven black men standing in front of her, and picked Ronald Cotton as the man who had brutally raped her eleven days before.
Excerpted from Picking Cotton by Jennifer Thompson- Cannino.
Copyright © 2009 by Jennifer Thompson- Cannino.
Published in March 2009 by St. Martin's Press.
All rights reserved. This work is protected under copyright laws and reproduction is strictly prohibited. Permission to reproduce the material in any manner or medium must be secured from the Publisher.
Anonymous
Posted March 27, 2009
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I found this story so inspiring at a time that we are all struggling for a reason that our world is in such disarray. It shows how very sensitive a rape can be and what can be done to overcome a judgement gone wrong. Truly goes deep into one's thoughts and emotions.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Feel the emotions of both sides of the story. Feel the consequences of how what you say , can affect others. Learn how forgiveness can improve your life and the lives of those around you. A sad and heartwarming story full of love, in one. Inspiring!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.No need to say much about Picking Cotton except that I think everyone ought to read it. Powerful message of forgiveness.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Lojie
Posted July 5, 2009
I purchased this book because I saw Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton interviewed about how their lives became intertwined forever.
Any woman who ever thought about how she would deal with being raped likely believes she would remember that man's face forever. Because of many factors, Jennifer believed she had identified the right man only to find after two trials and eleven years passed that she was wrong.
What was so amazing about this story is that Ronald Cotton was able to accept Jennifer's apology and that she was brave enough to offer it. I can't imagine the kind of heart it would take to forgive someone for taking eleven years of your life. Both Jennifer and Ronald were the victims of the same man....the one who raped Jennifer and the one who allowed Ronald to spend eleven years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He was able to blame the real perpetrator and not Jennifer for his incarceration. It's just an amazing and uplifting story.
If you are a believer in capital punishment this is a story you need to read. We certainly are finding, with the advances in DNA testing, that there are innocent people....especially black men, who are locked up or executed for crimes they did not commit.
My heart goes out to both of these victims. Jennifer and Ronald will never be the same, but they have certainly shown how forgiveness can change lives.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 3, 2009
I actually had the chance to hear Jennifer Thompson-Cannino speak about her story and it was the most powerful, amazing, wonderful, heartbreaking story that i have ever heard. I was truly touched by the forgiveness of Ronald for Jennifer. Their friendship is one for the ages. I applaude both Ronald and Jennifer for publishing their story, it is truly amazing.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 22, 2009
This book is a must read. It's a compelling true story, beautifully written.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 13, 2010
"Picking Cotton" is an absorbing story of a man that is wrongly convicted, mostly by eyewitness account, of the rape of a young woman. Write in first person back and forth between the victim and the "suspect," it gives an interesting firsthand account of how each was dealing with the situation as it unfolded. I enjoyed reading the women's point of view and how she had to learn to forgive.
I did not, however, think the book was well written. There were some awkward points where things were left unexplained and something that was seemingly unimportant to the story was talked about. I thought the editing could have been better and that's why I gave the book a 3 star rating.
I've read a lot of Innocence Project books but this one you actually get to hear the accounts from each person. I'm glad that, at least, this story had a happy ending.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.bookslug
Posted January 23, 2010
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Picking Cotton...it is a great story of forgiveness and not letting your circumstances be your fall. We all have something to learn from Ronald Cotton and his story of grace of mercy. How in the most horrible of situations he never gave up hope that the LORD would see him through, and that he was innocent. Eleven years of his life was taking from him, but after it was all over, he looked to God for His purpose in it all. And teaches each reader how to forgive the way our LORD so gracefully did for us! As a woman, I will not lie, at parts it was very difficult to read, through are some disturbing parts, but still a good read.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 8, 2012
One of the best books I've read in awhile. Very powerful and emotional story. I literally couldn't put this book down until I had finished.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Brannflakes
Posted April 5, 2012
To preface my review - I had just started working at Burlington Times-News the summer Ronald Cotton was finally set free and was in the middle of the unfolding drama. I grew up 15 miles from the Brookwood Condos but was a child at the time of the rape and trials. So the book is a mix of "ooh, I remember that" and "heh, I don't remember that." The park that Ronald and Jennifer are in at the start of the book is in the neighborhood of my childhood home. So, that said, this book hits really close to home. And doubtless, that colors my perception of this book.
I did really enjoy the back and forth his and her viewpoints. And their voices do come through loud and clear - Jennifer is a young and innocent girl forced to deal with some very harsh realities and how that changed her. Ronald is a good soul who suffers horrible injustice but his soul isn't changed. Their descriptions of the places and people are spot-on with my viewpoints, and I think that they do a very eloquent job of bringing the reader into that place at that time.
While the book is about the harsh realities of racism, revenge and remorse - it also brings with it a good dose of hope that while wrongs may be done in the past we can rise above them and find an inner peace and forgiveness.
Anonymous
Posted March 22, 2012
Couldnt put it down!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 6, 2012
An awsome and engrosing read, a book for all time
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted December 8, 2011
In the video, she seems so sure of herself and confident that cotten did it. Even though she though that he was the person that raped her and I understand that it was a mistake but I think she could of said she wasnt completely sure when naming the accused. We learned about this case in AP phycology and how this is false memory. The person that really raped her wasnt even in the line up for a choice of who raped her when she was supposed to identify the man. I also find it kind of wierd how the only thong she was thinking of while she was being raped was how she was going to memorize the man's face and send bim to jail. I also find it hard to beleive that the raper was stupid enough to believe that she was going to fix him something to drink when she went downstairs. Even though she said she was 100% sure that Cotton was the one that did it, her intuition was disproved after 11 years when the technology for DNA was developed. Pretty good book overall.
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Posted December 7, 2011
This was a wonderfully written, heart warming story of courage and forgiveness. To read what both people in the book went through but still, some how, were able to come out even stronger is amazing. I can only hope that I could show such warmth and forgiveness in such a horrible situation. I thank them both for sharing their story. It reminds me to enjoy every day and just how wonderful people can be!!!!!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted August 29, 2011
Amazzing!!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.8979576
Posted July 31, 2011
A book filled with devestation and lives canged. Overcoming adversity and the sheer power of having faith and the power of forgiveness.
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Posted July 19, 2011
Why do these situations keep showing up over and over? It seems as though no one cares until displaced justice shows up in the ties of the family. This book is written as a story. It is actually what someone lived.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.ShaStafford
Posted July 1, 2011
I truly enjoyed reading this book. What a powerful story about faith, love and compassion.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton is co-authored by a victim of rape and the man who was falsely accused of the crime, with the assistance of writer Erin Torneo. The format alternates from Jennifer's to Ronald's perspectives and the story reads like a documentary. Picking Cotton opens with a "happily ever after" prologue that took decades to reach. The interim was an excruciating journey of mistakes and misery. Within the story, there are racial issues to explore, as well as pros and cons in the criminal justice system. The story starts with Jennifer's point of view. After briefly establishing her routines and relationships for the readers, we see how her college life is immeasurably altered when she is raped. Jennifer endures the examination at the hospital; she has to repeatedly tell the details to detectives; she faces the disengaged attitudes of her family and boyfriend. In these relationships, the reader sees a victim-blaming society in action: Jennifer's mother wonders if what she wore had something to do with being attacked; Jennifer's boyfriend asks her if she enjoyed it. Jennifer courageously moves through the legal system, and eventually moves on. On the local news, Ronald sees that the police are searching for him as a suspect. Only twenty-two years old, his simple life becomes immeasurably complicated when he is arrested. He is treated as though he were already found guilty. Ronald is equally courageous as he moves through a legal system that is out to get him, no matter what. Ronald spends more than a decade in prison, acclimating to the dismal culture of those incarcerated for life. He is guilty until DNA proves him innocent. He has to start over. This book needed to be written so that readers witness the capacity of human will, the fate from human error, and the resiliency of spirit from both sides of the story.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 5, 2011
I learned about this book at a local university. I was very pleased with the book. I love the law and this book didnt disappointment me. It also taught me alot about the human heart and forgiving one another and yourself.
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Overview
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.
In their own words, Jennifer and ...