 In 1984, Jennifer Thompson was a 22-yearold
college student with a 4.0 GPA and lofty
goals for her future. Her path was dramatically
altered however, when a man broke into her
apartment, put a knife to her throat, and raped her.
After a composite sketch, line-up identification, and
trial, Jennifer Thompson’s testimony and memory led
to a life sentence for Ronald Cotton. When a DNA
test revealed that Ronald Cotton was not her rapist,
he was released after spending 11 years in prison.
Devastated that her actions led to the imprisonment of
an innocent man, Thompson reached out to Cotton to
apologize, and in an act of true generosity, he forgave her.
Their unlikely friendship and bond became the basis
for the New York Times best-selling book, Picking
Cotton. Today, Thompson and Cotton travel the
country, speaking out in favor of DNA testing and
working to protect the wrongfully convicted by
sharing their personal stories of hope and redemption. |