Skip to main content

Book Review: Picking Cotton by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton


In 1984, Jennifer Thompson was asleep in her bed when a man broke in and raped her. She concentrated on his face, trying to notice every detail so she could help the police find him if she were able to get away. She did, and when the police showed her photos and put her in front of a line-up, she identified Ronald Cotton as her rapist. She was positive she had the right man. He was found guilty based on her eyewitness account, and sentenced to life in prison. Eleven years later, a DNA test showed Ronald Cotton was innocent.

Picking Cotton by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton with Erin Torneo tells the story, first from Jennifer's perspective and then from Ron's, of the trials, their lives during Ron's incarceration and the friendship they built after he was released. This was an eye-opening book, showing the flaws inherent in the investigation methods used by the police, and why eyewitnesses may find themselves identifying the wrong person. It sheds light on the fact that there are many others who are currently in jail, or who have even been executed in the past, who were there because of eyewitness accounts that may have been wrong.

This memoir is well written and a very quick read, although I won't call it an easy read because of the subject matter. The rape is described in some detail, and the whole situation is disturbing as we know that an innocent man is in prison ~ although we also know he is eventually freed, so that helps. My book club will be discussing the book later this week, and I think it will make for an interesting discussion.

My Rating: 4/5

For more information about the book, the authors and the issues, visit the Picking Cotton website.

Watch the book trailer:


This review was written based on a copy of Picking Cotton that I acquired through PaperBackSwap.com.
Labels:

Comments

  1. KritterJanuary 19, 2011 at 2:20 PM

    What a book - I was putting it on my list and watched the trailer when I realized that it happened on her college campus, which is where I went to school.

    I am headed out to pick that up to read.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sue JacksonJanuary 19, 2011 at 7:24 PM

    This sounds fascinating. Have you read An Innocent Man by John Grisham? It's a similar nonfiction story about a man on death row who's later proven innocent.

    Sue

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Popular posts from this blog

Banned Books Week: Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park

This is the end of Banned Books Week and unfortunately, I haven't had a lot of time to write about banned books this year. But I did want to include at least one post about it, so today I wanted to share one of the book series that it seems most people are surprised to find on the list: Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park.

According to Wikipedia:
The Junie B. Jones series came in at #71 on the American Library Association's list of the Top 100 Banned or Challenged Books from 2000-2009. Reasons cited are poor social values taught by the books and Junie B. Jones not being considered a good role model due to her mouthiness and bad spelling/grammar. This is an interesting example of a banned book. Many times there are serious, controversial topics featured in books that are challenged. Things like homosexuality, drugs, vulgar language, etc. You can actually understand why people may not want their children to read those books, and why they may challenge their inclusion in school libra…
10 comments
Read more

Book Review: No Story to Tell by KJ Steele

Victoria has been put down since the day she was born. First by her parents who were disappointed that she survived while her twin brother died. Then by her verbally abusive husband and his low-life friends. But soon an intriguing artist named Elliott arrives in town and starts encouraging Victoria to follow her dream of opening her own dance studio. She also begins to receive phone calls from a mysterious someone who gets her to open up about her past and face her true feelings.

In No Story to Tell, KJ Steele has captured the small-town atmosphere and brought these characters to life. From the victimized Victoria, to her drunk and obnoxious husband Bobby and his drunk and obnoxious friends, to all the side characters who you'd expect to encounter in a town like this ~ all are so realistic in both their actions and their voices. She has written a compelling story of an abused woman who thinks she is trapped in this loveless, miserable existence. But then she finds a spark of hope…
Post a Comment
Read more

Book Review: I See You by Clare Mackintosh

Title: I See You
Author: Clare Mackintosh
Genre: thriller
Published: February 21, 2017
Format: ebook (NetGalley)
Source: publisher
Buy on Amazon(affiliate link)


Have you ever felt like someone was watching you? You will after reading Clare Mackintosh's latest release I See You. Told from the perspectives of two women, one who appears to be targeted by a criminal and the other who is the police officer working the case, this psychological thriller will have you looking over your own shoulder by the end.

Zoe is a typical working mother who takes the Underground through London to her office every day. Like most commuters, she has a routine that she follows every day, leaving home at the same time, sitting in the same train car, taking the same route to work from the station. It's habit. But she starts to realize this may not be a good idea after seeing her own photo in an advertisement in the newspaper. Another woman who appears in the advertisement is murdered and Zoe starts to ge…
2 comments
Read more