Picking Cotton - 1671 Words

Picking Cotton In the past decade, eyewitness testimonies have cast a shadow on what is wrong with the justice system in today’s society. Before we had the advanced technology, we have today, eyewitness testimonies were solid cold-hard facts when it came to proving the defendant was guilty. However, time has changed and eyewitness testimonies have proven to be the leading causes of wrongful convictions due to misidentification. The Thompson and Cotton case is a perfect example of how eyewitness testimonies can put an innocent man behind bars. Jennifer Thompson was your average young independent adult trying to earn a degree at Elon College in Burlington, North Carolina. She had a boyfriend, Paul, who commuted from Burlington to Chapel†¦show more content†¦After twenty minutes, Jennifer narrowed down the men to two possible suspects. There were certain characteristics of both men that matched the sketch and what Jennifer could remember several days ago when the incident occurred. Jennifer took a leap of faith and chose man number five, which was in fact Ronald Cotton. The authorities confirmed Cotton was who they also believed was the intruder that night. After that day at the station, Jennifer was convinced she had made the proper choice. When it comes to critiquing how the identification information was obtained, several things are considered unreliable. The first mistake of the use of eyewitness testimonies in the Thompson amp; Cotton case was Jennifer was in a state of shock when identifying her assailant. Jennifer was in a deep slumber as a stranger at knifepoint awakened her causing adrenaline rush and high stress as she was fearing for her life. â€Å"My body was terrified although my mind hadn’t caught up yet† (Cannino et al. 12). This type of state of mind causes the brain to cloud its judgment when high stress occurs during the process of identifying a criminal. Although, Jennifer was able to study her attacker to the best ability possible, stress can alter the memory process clouding exact description especially held at knifepoint. The second mistake of the use of eyewitness testimonies in the Thompson amp; Cotton case was the focus Jennifer had on the weapon duringShow MoreRelatedReaction Paper : Picking Cotton1765 Words   |  8 PagesReaction Paper: Picking Cotton Background Story On July 28th of 1984, Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, a 22-year-old college student and another woman was both brutally raped at knife point. During the attack, Thompson was attentive of her attacker’s appearance and anything else notable so if she survived the attack, she could assure the rapist would be caught and punished (prosecuted). Within a few days of the attack, the Burlington Police Department of North Carolina had determined a suspect throughRead MoreAfter reading a number of articles, and attending the â€Å"Picking Cotton† lecture. I have come to the500 Words   |  2 PagesAfter reading a number of articles, and attending the â€Å"Picking Cotton† lecture. I have come to the conclusion that, without the breakthrough of DNA extraction technology. Many people would still be convicted of a crime they never committed. One of the biggest pushes for this change in the judicial system, was the Thompson Vs. Cotton case. Ronald Cotton was accused of raping twenty two year old college student, Jennifer Thompson. During a lecture at Ferris State University, Thompson recalled thinkingRead MoreEssay on The Best Conditions to Grow Cotton523 Words   |  3 PagesCotton Production Areas: Cotton is cultivated in areas that are warm and experience high temperatures and favorable amounts of sunshine. Cotton is grown in areas where the amount of humidity is low. In addition, areas with too much rain or frost are not favorable for cotton growing. Africa, India, Australia and the Americas are some of the areas where cotton is a commonly grown crop (Cotton Australia, 2013). Dates of crop cycle Cotton is usually grown as an annual crop that depends on the springRead More12 Year a Slave Essay1620 Words   |  7 Pagesgentle servitude, without murmuring all my days,† (Northup, 74). Northup for a short period of time had the ease of William Ford as his master, but for ten years he was to be held in cruel bondage by a man named Edwin Epps. Epps was the owner of a cotton plantation on Bayou Boeuf and looked upon slaves as animals. During times of drunkenness he would substitute punishment with sport and precede in whipping them, saying demeaning statements, and making them dance. Northup gives a description of whoRead MoreTaking a Look at the Cotton Plant963 Words   |  4 Pages The cotton plant belongs to the genus Gossypium of the family Malvaceae (mallow family); the same family as hollyhock, okra and hibiscus. It is generally a shrubby plant having broad three-lobed leaves and seeds in capsules, or bolls; each seed is surrounded with downy fiber, white or creamy in color and easily spun. The fibers flatten and twist naturally as they dry. There are different species of Cotton - Gossypium hirsutum, Gossypium barbadense, Gossypium herbaceum and Gossypium arb oreum, theRead MoreThe Lived Experience Of Human Commodification. The Shape2025 Words   |  9 Pagesto it. In the early United States, slavery was a commonly accepted view since most slaves were servants and did household chores and small tasks. When plantations started developing in the South, there was a need for a large labor force to work on cotton plantations to produce these valuable cash crops. The North, which did not have the required terrain to grow cash crops, then shifted its focus to the production of manufactured goods and trade via ships. This created a rivalry between the two sectionsRead MoreCotton was and still is a vital crop plant, it chiefly provided the South with a monetary advantage1000 Words   |  4 PagesCotton was and still is a vital crop plant, it chiefly provided the South with a monetary advantage over several parts of the United States, and as for me†¦ it made my family. My grandmother would have never left the small town of Moultrie, Georgia in search of a new life in South Florida, she was tired of picking cotton and knew there were better prospect s. Even though cotton is an essential part of our daily wear, there were painful recollections surrounding the harvesting of cotton from my descendantsRead MoreEli Whitney and the Cotton Gin Essay748 Words   |  3 Pagesand the Cotton Gin Eli Whitney : Eli Whitney was the inventor of the cotton gin and a pioneer in the mass production of cotton. Whitney was born in Westboro , Massachusetts., on Dec. 8, 1765, and died on Jan. 8, 1825. He graduated from Yale College in 1792. By April 1793, Whitney had designed and constructed the cotton gin, a machine that automated the separation of cottonseed from the short-staple cotton fiber. Eli Whitneys machine could produce up to 23 kg (50 lb) of cleaned cotton dailyRead MoreThe Specific Effects of Globalization Throughout Fugitive Denim2224 Words   |  9 Pagesexchange and interdependencies, is the underlying motif in Rachel Louise Snyder’s novel, Fugitive Denim (Conley 531). In this work, Snyder uses a theoretical pair of denim jeans to explore the workings of the global market, from the harvesting of the cotton used in making jeans to the fashion design behind the pants seen in stores around the world. Being the beneficiary of inexpensive goods, capitalist nations like the United States and much of the European Union neglect to realize their low-cost endRead MoreAnalysis Of Thomas Benton s Cotton Pickers 854 Words   |  4 Pagespainting â€Å"Cotton Pickers† created in 1931, caught my eye because I am extremely pro-black. I find it interesting to see black people represented in art, especially during a time where racism was violently apparent. I n many famous works, black people are rarely present and if they are, they are depicted unflatteringly. In this painting the foremost character is a black man, a somewhat rare occurrence. â€Å"Cotton Pickers† illustrated, as its title suggests, black people in a field picking cotton. Seven