83: The Rape of Jennifer Thompson, Wrongful Conviction of Ron Cotton & Their Enduring Legacy

To start off Black History Month, I wanted to highlight an extremely moving and important case of the wrongful conviction of a black man. The rape of Jennifer Thompson was horrific. But police procedures at the time, in 1984, caused her to accuse the wrong man. When he was finally exonerated by DNA, Jennifer didn’t just apologize. She and Ronald Cotton became close friends and Jennifer became an activist about the fallibility of eyewitness identification and the power of forgiveness. Written, hosted and produced by Erica KelleyResearched by Erica KelleyEdited by Chaes GraySuggested Reading: Picking Cotton by Suggested by Suzanne LinkOriginal Graphic Art by Coley HornerOriginal Music by Rob Harrison of Gamma RadioSources: https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/83-the-rape-of-jennifer-thompson-wrongful-conviction-of-ron-cottonMajor Resource: https://www.pickingcottonbook.com/Merch | Donate | In the Media:https://southernfriedtruecrime.com@southfriedtruth (Twitter) @southernfriedtruecrime (Insta)This episode's sponsors:ShipStation.com (click on the mic at the top of page & enter code southern fried for a free 60 day trial!)BetterHelp.com/southern (to get 10% off your first month with an online counselor)