Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, third from left, is joined by (from left) Brooks Holland, GU Law professor; Breean Beggs, Executive Director, Center for Justice; and Theresa Conner, Executive Director, Integrity of Justice Project.

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Eleven years later, DNA evidence exonerated him of the crime.

On Tuesday, April 21, at the GU School of Law, Thompson-Cannino spoke of her experience in a presentation called “Picking Cotton: A Story of Injustice and Redemption.”

Thompson-Cannino had been raped at knifepoint in her home. She escaped from her attacker, and in the course of reporting her crime eventually identified Cotton as her rapist in both a photo and in a physical lineup. Cotton always insisted he was innocent, but Thompson-Cannino’s positive ID was the evidence that kept him behind bars.

However, in 1995, a DNA test proved Cotton was not the rapist and he was released after 11 years in prison.

Two years later, Thompson-Cannino and Cotton met face-to-face. They became friends and now work together to raise awareness about the need for post-conviction DNA testing and reform in eyewitness identification procedures.

Together, they wrote a memoir of their experience, “Picking Cotton” and their story has been featured on the Public Broadcasting Service program “Frontline,” National Public Radio’s “This I Believe,” and the CBS TV show “60 Minutes.”

The event was sponsored by Gonzaga University School of Law and the Integrity of Justice Project.

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