ronald cotton and jennifer thompson cannino

The failure was systemic-not personal-and her brave decision to forfeit her privacy (many victims never come forward in other wrongful conviction cases) is the reason many states have adopted reform measures. Jennifer pursued justice in the hopes that her assailant - whom she knew had gone off to rape a second woman an hour after she escaped-would never be able to hurt another woman. By putting the reader in Jennifer’s shoes, I hope Picking Cotton helps to illuminate just how difficult making an eyewitness identification is-even when you are sure-and remind people everywhere that she was a victim of a brutal crime that derailed her life. It is further proof of the need to educate people about the many variables that can contribute to misidentification. I have seen Jennifer - and more recently Michele Mallin - vilified by people for their mistaken eyewitness testimony. Their case has become a hallmark of the relationship between eyewitness misidentification and wrongful convictions because of how little we really understand about how memory works.

It was just a small example of the undercurrent that runs through the book- the fragility of memory itself. I think I prefer the safety of my memory.” I had given us that safety.” She paused and then said, “How frightening. “Isn’t that strange? In my mind, I had given us the distance of at least having a wall there. The seven suspects were standing merely feet away from both of them. I interrupted her to tell her in fact, there had been no glass, nor wall at all, as verified by the police report and the investigating officer. She vividly recalled the details of the physical lineup, mentioning the one-way window. “I remember it was one of the most take-your-breath away things, the fear,” she said.

What could she remember, after all this time? But it became very clear as we spoke that she had one particularly strong memory: the day she accompanied Jennifer to the physical lineup. “I don’t know if I’ll be of any help at all,” Jennifer’s rape crisis counselor told me the spring afternoon I went to interview her at Elon College. The journey, suffice to say, has been incredible, bringing me deep into some of the complex issues surrounding wrongful convictions and forever changing the way I will think about crime and punishment in the United States.

Ronald cotton and jennifer thompson cannino