Picking Cotton: Our Memoir Of Injustice And Redemption

When she is 22, Jennifer wakes in her apartment to find the man who will rape her at her bedside. Eleven days later, she will pick Ronald Cotton out of a lineup and name him as her attacker. The aftermath of the rape leads to the dissolution of her long-term relationship with her boyfriend, Paul. Until Ronald is convicted—receiving a life sentence—Jennifer lives in a state of fear, anxiety, and shame. She turns briefly to drugs in order to numb her feelings. After Ronald is imprisoned, Jennifer returns to a normal life, marries a man named Vinny, and has triplets. When DNA testing proves that she identified the wrong man, Jennifer is afraid all over again. She worries that Ronald will want revenge on her. Eventually, she feels compelled to meet him and they become friends. Through Ronald’s friendship and forgiveness, Jennifer forgives herself for her mistake and can finally move forward from her traumatic experience. 

Ronald Cotton is thrown into a nightmare when he is accused of Jennifer’s rape. When he learns that he is a suspect, he goes to the police station to clear his name. As a black man in the South, he quickly sees that the detectives have already decided he is guilty.