Would you have picked Cotton?
In July 1984, Jennifer Thompson was a beautiful, blonde-haired college student living in Burlington, North Carolina, looking forward to graduating with a perfect 4.0, and marrying her boyfriend Paul. After spending a pleasant day shopping and eating Chinese food, Paul took Jennifer back to her apartment. They relaxed for a while before he left at about 11:00 P.M. At around 3:00 A.M, Jennifer became aware that someone strange was in her apartment. A hand covered her mouth. Another hand held a knife to her throat while a voice told her not to scream. She was raped.
All during the ordeal, Jennifer kept studying the man's face. She was looking for scars, tattoos, his clothing - anything she could use to identify her attacker. Keeping her head about her, she was able to trick him into releasing her and escaped to a neighbor's house.
A few days later, the police asked Jennifer to look at a photo lineup. In a few minutes, she picked out a photo of a man the police considered the prime suspect. Shortly thereafter, she sat in a room with seven men who took turns stepping forward and saying, "Shut up or I will cut you. . ." She picked number five, Ronald Cotton, as her rapist. She was absolutely sure. Cotton went to prison for life.
Eleven years later, Jennifer learned she had identified the wrong man. DNA evidence exonerated Cotton. He was freed by attorneys working for The Innocence Project, a group of lawyers who work to overturn wrongful convictions. A man named Bobby Leon Poole had actually committed the crime.
Picking Cotton is a recently released book that gives a riveting account of faith, forgiveness, and redemption. It's an amazing story about how Jennifer came to ask Cotton for forgiveness, and how he somehow found it in his heart to forgive the person who had cost him 11 years of his life. Both Cotton and Thompson-Cannino now work together to win freedom for others who have been wrongfully convicted.
Picking Cotton is also the story of how tricky our memories can be. For 11 years, Jennifer was convinced beyond all reasonable doubt that she had identified the right man. Only in the face of irrefutable scientific evidence was she able to admit she made a mistake. There is an important lesson in this for all decision-makers. Our memories are fragile and can be incorrect even when we are absolutely convinced we are right.
Decision-Making Best Practice #7: Don't be so confident in your memory's ability to recount events if others disagree with you. Look for corroborating evidence when making an important decision based on memory recall. Notes, pictures, or news accounts can help you determine if your memory is accurate.
All during the ordeal, Jennifer kept studying the man's face. She was looking for scars, tattoos, his clothing - anything she could use to identify her attacker. Keeping her head about her, she was able to trick him into releasing her and escaped to a neighbor's house.
A few days later, the police asked Jennifer to look at a photo lineup. In a few minutes, she picked out a photo of a man the police considered the prime suspect. Shortly thereafter, she sat in a room with seven men who took turns stepping forward and saying, "Shut up or I will cut you. . ." She picked number five, Ronald Cotton, as her rapist. She was absolutely sure. Cotton went to prison for life.
Eleven years later, Jennifer learned she had identified the wrong man. DNA evidence exonerated Cotton. He was freed by attorneys working for The Innocence Project, a group of lawyers who work to overturn wrongful convictions. A man named Bobby Leon Poole had actually committed the crime.
Picking Cotton is a recently released book that gives a riveting account of faith, forgiveness, and redemption. It's an amazing story about how Jennifer came to ask Cotton for forgiveness, and how he somehow found it in his heart to forgive the person who had cost him 11 years of his life. Both Cotton and Thompson-Cannino now work together to win freedom for others who have been wrongfully convicted.
Picking Cotton is also the story of how tricky our memories can be. For 11 years, Jennifer was convinced beyond all reasonable doubt that she had identified the right man. Only in the face of irrefutable scientific evidence was she able to admit she made a mistake. There is an important lesson in this for all decision-makers. Our memories are fragile and can be incorrect even when we are absolutely convinced we are right.
Decision-Making Best Practice #7: Don't be so confident in your memory's ability to recount events if others disagree with you. Look for corroborating evidence when making an important decision based on memory recall. Notes, pictures, or news accounts can help you determine if your memory is accurate.
