Victims in rape case on 'Bookwatch'

What would be worse?

Being brutally raped and having to live with nightmares and fear the rest of your life? Or, being charged and convicted of a crime you did not commit and then spending 10 years in prison with little hope of ever being exonerated?

Decide for yourself after you hear both stories and learn how they intersect this afternoon at 5 on UNC-TV’s “North Carolina Bookwatch.”

Jennifer Thompson, the rape victim, and Ronald Cotton, the innocent man sent to prison, will talk about their experiences, which are set out in the book they wrote together, “Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption.”

Maybe you have heard something about their stories. Or even if you haven’t, maybe you have guessed correctly how their stories come together.

In “Picking Cotton,” Thompson tells how she came to her certainty about Cotton’s guilt — and stuck to it until the DNA evidence forced her to admit she might have been wrong.

Thompson’s feelings about her rapist bordered on revulsion. The memories of her experience nearly pushed her over the edge. In a lineup she identified Cotton as the man who assaulted her. When she testified in court, she had no doubt, and her confident testimony led to Cotton’s conviction in 1985. While he was in prison, Thompson “prayed every single night to God” that Cotton would die in prison.

In a parallel story, Cotton describes the hatred he felt for Thompson because she had falsely accused him.

Ironically, Bobby Poole, the man who actually raped Thompson, wound up in the same prison, serving time for another crime. When Cotton proved to himself that Poole was the guilty party, he devised a plan to kill him. Thankfully, Cotton’s father persuaded him to abandon that idea.

In 1995, DNA evidence proved that Bobby Poole, not Cotton, had raped Thompson. With Cotton released from prison, Thompson’s “hatred turned to fear. Now I was afraid of him, because I thought … he hated me and would seek revenge on myself and on my children. And I was ashamed and I was guilty.”

“Picking Cotton” reminds us that our justice system is not perfect, and that all of us must take responsibility for its failings.

Thankfully there is another, more hopeful, story in “Picking Cotton,” one of forgiveness and redemption. After his release a meeting was arranged in a minister’s office. Cotton remembers, “She was nervous. I could tell from the expression on her face.”

He tried to put his hatred behind. “If you forgive, live, and let go, it’s much easier for you. …You just take it to the Lord in prayer. He’ll lift that load up off of you, because he knows best.”

“People may do you wrong, and you … have that little anger toward them, and think about getting even, but that’s not the way to live. Two wrongs don’t make a right. …You have to love, live, and forgive.”

Thompson credits Cotton with showing her the way to turn their tragedies into positives. “What I learned from Ronald was that love and hate can’t coexist in the same heart.”

Thompson and Cotton, and their families, have become friends and colleagues, as well as co-authors of their powerful book. Instead of allowing the brutal rape and the long-term incarceration to ruin their lives, they have developed a mutual trust and respect that could be a powerful example for the rest of us.

Even as Cotton struggles to recover from a recent stroke and the economic challenges that result from his long stay in prison, the two work together to bring about reforms that would lessen the chances for others to experience the same injustice.

Next week: NASCAR

Feb. 12’s “Bookwatch” guest is Daniel Pierce, author of “Real NASCAR: White Lightning, Red Clay, and Big Bill France.”

Last year, our legislature made NASCAR North Carolina’s official sport. So, for those of us who think Duke-UNC basketball is the biggest sports event in our state, it might be a good time to read Daniel Pierce’s “Real NASCAR: White Lightning, Red Clay, and Big Bill France.” Some North Carolina basketball and baseball fans might disagree, but there can be no argument that for many North Carolinians, stock car racing, the NASCAR variety, is their passion. They can tell you how North Carolina moonshiners driving their fast cars away from the revenuers got things started. The real story, as told by Pierce, is even more interesting.

D.G. Martin hosts UNC-TV’s “North Carolina Bookwatch,” which airs Sundays at 5 p.m. For more information or to view prior programs visit the webpage at www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch/