Convinced Cotton would never get out of prison, Thompson moved on with her life as best she could. Found guilty, he was given two life sentences and fifty-four years. Two years later the appellate court vacated Cotton’s sentence citing an error in the trial, and he was retried for raping Ms. Cotton, who had a shaky alibi and a minor criminal record, was tried and convicted he was sentenced to life plus fifty years for first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense, and first-degree breaking and entering. Thompson identified Cotton in a police lineup, even though she was unsure he was her rapist. At the police department, she gamely assisted in the development of a composite sketch, and Ronald Cotton was arrested shortly thereafter. Cunningly, she was able to escape and her assailant fled. During the assault she made it a point to look at her assailant and memorize what she could about his appearance. In 1984, then Jennifer Thompson, a white woman and young college student, was raped at knife point by a black man who broke into her apartment while she lay asleep. In a way, of course, it is an old, old story. Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemptionīy Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald CottonĮven without its provocative title, Picking Cotton would be a winner.
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