Picking Cotton Summary

Part 2: Picking Cotton Reaction

My reaction to cotton side of the story shows readers the injustice of the justice system. In part 2 Ronald shows up to the police station after hearing that he allegedly raped a woman when he goes to clear his name he is arrested on the spot. Just because he had a criminal record he was accused of the rape of Jennifer. As I said in my summary the quote on page 97 "He had left the room and I laid down on my bunk. It felt like even God had forgotten about me. The weight of the world was on me, sucking me down into darkness I didn't think I could swim out of." I felt like this was just showing the helplessness he felt in prison. Ronald's world really had ended to him and everything that he thought he could rely on had given up on him. He was sitting in prison for a crime he did not commit because someone said it was him and picked him out of a line up not knowing about the other suspects there could have been. He spent 11 years in jail for a mistake and both Jennifer and Ronald are the victims in this story Jennifer for being a rape victim and Robert for being falsely accused. It really makes you think how good are system is and how they can just convict an innocent man like that. And how many other people are serving time in jail because of false eyewitness testimony.