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There was much excitement in B.N. Duke Auditorium last Wednesday when the authors of "Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption" came to N. C. Central University to tell their extraordinary true story.
North Carolinians Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton formed a surprising friendship after she and another young woman ,wrongfully accused him of raping them in Burlington, N.C.
Cotton faced two life sentences. DNA evidence finally cleared his name after he had spent 11 years in prison.
On June 30, 1995, Ronald Cotton became the first postconviction DNA exoneree in North Carolina.
PBS's "Frontline" aired a special in 1997 entitled "What Jennifer Saw," in which Thompson-Cannino and Cotton talked about the incident and shared their experience. Attorneys, police officers, and professors also participated in the show.
Because Jennifer was afraid to meet Cotton, their TV scenes were shot separately. "I took away 11 years of his life that he can't have back," Thompson-Cannino told the audience Wednesday.
"I knew he'd want revenge. I would too if I was him."
But Cotton expressed no bitterness toward her during that TV special. He said he had forgiven her long ago and knew she was sorry for what she had done, but he wanted to "hear it from her herself."
Thompson-Cannino finally gathered the courage to meet Cotton face-to-face in a small church to apologize.
Since then, the two have become friends, appearing on national radio and public seminars to tell their story and raise awareness about judicial reform.
The tour led to their book, which they signed copies of during their visit to NCCU.
"It was really inspiring," said chemistry junior Janet Onabanjo.
"I didn't know someone could be so forgiving," she said. The lesson she took away from the authors, she said, was "Patience is a virtue."
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