Ron Cotton and Jennifer Thompson-Cannino speak to overflow crowd at GPC about their book, "Picking Cotton," this year's GPC Reads selection. (photo by Bill Roa)
GPC Reads discussion centers on forgiveness
Forgiveness is the topic of this year’s GPC Reads selection, “Picking Cotton” by Ron Cotton and Jennifer Thompson.
Cotton was accused, tried and imprisoned for 11 years for a rape he did not commit and then exonerated through DNA evidence. Ultimately, he chose to forgive his accuser, Thompson.
The two met after Cotton was released from prison and forged an unlikely friendship. Both came to Georgia Perimeter College on Wednesday, Nov. 12, to share their powerful story of forgiveness and redemption.
The duo spoke to an overflow crowd of more 600 people seated in the Clarkston Campus Cole Auditorium; Cotton also spoke to a full auditorium at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus earlier in the day.
During the event, Thompson detailed her story about being attacked and her struggle to dispassionately remember her attacker. But her memory would prove faulty as she described her assailant to police, leading to Cotton’s arrest. (Her true attacker was eventually jailed for another rape; it would be years later that he would be convicted of Thompson's attack.)
When confronted with the police description of Thompson’s rapist, Cotton said he was so confident of what he was sure was a case of mistaken identity that he turned himself in to the local Burlington, N.C., police. Instead, he was immediately jailed, tried and convicted, due to Thompson’s testimony.
Cotton also detailed his years in prison and his struggle not to let his anger over his incarceration—and toward Thompson—take over his life. He described a “vision” that he assumed was Thompson while he was in prison. “I knew it was her, and I had to forgive her,” he told the audience at Dunwoody.
More than 100 GPC faculty members chose the book for student reading, and the response to the program was positive. Dr. Nicolette Rose assigned the book to her English composition class at Decatur Campus and encouraged her class to come to the free author talk.
“The ‘Picking Cotton’ event last week was wonderful! My students are still talking about it, and so am I,” she said.
Also for GPC Reads, students participated in a multi-media and essay contest that pulled themes from the book, asking the question, “What is your story?” The winner of the essay contest was Clarkston student Kalib Clark. Dunwoody student Luisa Baquero won for her “forgiveness box” and video.
Films, a play and panel discussions are planned for the spring. For updates, go to www.gpc.edu/gpcreads.