Ronald Cotton Misidentification

Here is how misidentification often occurs: A crime is committed, the victim claims they have a vivid memory of the perpetrator, a composite sketch is created and the victim chooses a suspect from the photo and physical lineup. The investigators think they have caught the perpetrator and done justice. They are often times wrong. Eyewitness misidentification has been known as the leading cause of wrongful conviction. A study by the Innocence projects depicts that it plays a role in 72% of wrongful convictions. In most cases, the misidentification is unintentional as memory can be contaminated, lost or replaced. Different factors lead to eye witness misidentification and Picking cotton shows some of these factors and how unreliable eye witness …show more content…
In regards to weapon focus effect, her assailant had put a knife on her neck making her afraid and her focus to be on the knife. In the book, she stated “i'm afraid of knives”(15).When Jennifer was told to identify her assailant from the photo lineup, she picked Ronald Cotton. Detective Gauldin told her “You did great, Ms Thompson.”(33). In her mind, she had done the right thing as she assumed they must have had a suspect. During the physical lineup, Jennifer subconsciously picked Ronald again because her memory had been replaced with the picture she had selected from the photo lineup. The detective also told her “ we thought that might be the guy”(37). She thought she had won, that she selected the right person and would keep him from hurting other people. She was wrong. Even during Ronald's second trial, when Bobby Poole, the real perpetrator was put in the presence of Jennifer, her mind refused to accept any other image because her memory had been replaced with the image of Ronald Cotton raping her. Jennifer and Ronald's story demonstrates the importance of eyewitness testimony and shows how the misidentification of a perpetrator can lead to the conviction of an innocent