TOW #8

Picking Cotton- IRB

Ronald Cotton was put into jail after being accused of raping Jennifer Thompson. He was transferred from prison to prison, and even spent some of his tome in solidary confinement. While in prison, he met a man who was there for a similar crime, named Bobby Poole. He even looked like Cotton. Upon this realization, Cotton demanded to be taken back to court; they must have gotten the wrong guy. Once again, Jennifer identified him as her rapist and he was sentences to life in prison plus fifty years. After eleven years in jail, Cotton took a DNA test, and was let go after it was determined that Bobby Poole was, in fact, the actual rapist. Jennifer, guilty, requested to meet Ronald, and the two formed an unlikely friendship.
This book focuses on the idea of forgiveness. It's an important theme that the authors focus on throughout telling their stories. It also focuses on the importance of forgiveness. Ronald Cotton forgave Jennifer for her mistake, even after eleven years in jail. This is one of the main things they want to get across to their audience: that the most important thing is forgiveness. Because as we see in the book, forgiveness is what drives Ronald and Jennifer's relationship.
Jennifer and Ronald focus on writing to those who have conflict in their lives. Their main purpose is to show people that the best way to solve conflicts with with love and forgiveness, not anger and hate. They write, "And I'm glad you all have come together as one to stand up for Troy Davis, to put your foot down and keep going forward instead of fighting fire with fire." (pg 281) This quote shows how using love is better than 'fighting fire with fire,' or fighting hate and fear with more hate and fear.
I really enjoyed this book, and I recommend it to those who are going through any conflict in their lives. It teaches lessons about compassion and forgiveness that can be applied at any time. I hope my next book is as good as this one.