Comments on: Wrongly convicted man teams up with accuser: Is forgiveness controversial?

By: Melissa

Melissa — Sat, 30 May 2009 22:31:19 +0000

I don’t understand why they don’t always do DNA testing in cases like this. It’s sad that he wasted all of those years of his life behind bars and was looked at as a rapist when he was innocent but I’m glad that finally justice was served and that he chose to forgive his accuser. I don’t blame her because she really did think it was him. I blame our messed up judicial system which is quick to convict the innocent based on unsatisfactory evidence.

By: Grampa Caligula

Grampa Caligula — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:03:32 +0000

Could I have forgiven her? Maybe – I don’t know. I hope that I would be able to do so.

But I’m not a christian, so I’m not obligated by faith to do so. Even so, it really warms my heart to see this kind of goodness in the world.

It seems to me that Cotton has really embraced the message of Christ when he forgave her. And given that the families have become friends, I would suspect that he has forgiven her seven times.

If only Gandhi had born witness to this – he would have met a real christian.

By: All About Race: Wrongly Convicted Man Teams Up With Accuser | Pop + Politics

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:37:23 +0000

[...] This post originally appeared on Carmen Dixon’s All About Race. [...]

By: Bruce

Bruce — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:45:52 +0000

That brother has a big heart. I don’t know if I could forgive her. 11 years of your life is long time – and you’ll never get it back!

The scary thing is, it could happen to any of us. I have two young sons. I’m always schooling them on the evils of the world.

By: Carmen D.

Carmen D. — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 07:03:56 +0000

My dear Hobie, thank you for your beautiful comment. I see the signs too although there is A LOT of tough stuff happening right now. I haven’t written about that this week because I simply needed a break. But next week, we need to talk about some issues that we have to confront.

I love that you are now a fellow blogger. Your site, http://www.yourlifenature.wordpress.com is a wonderful respite from the day-to-day covered here. I hope folks will head over, check out your spot and leave comments for you.

Peace to you, my friend.

By: Carmen D.

Carmen D. — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 06:58:26 +0000

Hi Lara, welcome to the conversation. Thank you for leaving your thoughtful comment.BTW, I checked out your site – I like it. I am sorry you’ve been going through a rough patch. I look forward to reading more of your writing.

By: Hobie

Hobie — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 03:47:27 +0000

Kudos to both of these brave individuals for their ability to ask for and grant each other forgiveness, and then to travel widely showing what two opened, forgiving hearts,minds and souls can achieve.

I forget who said the following, but there’s a saying that if you’re messing around in someone else’s business judging them for what they should be doing or not doing, or saying or not saying, noone is home paying attention to your own business, namely yourself. Thus it comes back to ourselves-who can we apologize to, forgive, thank, and maybe even love as a fellow human being? Can we do it to and for ourselves first? This is not only about racial healing and understanding-it is about human healing and understanding.

Thanks Carmen, for your courage to share this story and to let folks take away from it what they wish to see. I see tremendous signs of hope and healing and harmony-not a kumbayah kind of thing, but a slow, non-linear awakening showing a path leading beyond separation and fear to a different way of living together and connecting with others on this beautiful and fragile planet.

Peace to you.

By: Lara

Lara — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:00:18 +0000

I’m not sure it is anyone’s place to make a judgment on whether or not he should have forgiven her. Ultimately that is between the two of them. That he did is one more example of the beauty of humanity. And I think the justice system and other potential eyewitnesses will learn from their story.
I understand the anger and the desire to condemn her, but it only inflames and does not teach. They’ve chosen to teach, and I commend both of them for that.

By: dancinginthedark

dancinginthedark — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:00:38 +0000

Katherine,

Nothing can compensate for the years taken from Cotton’s life. Yes, I agree Cotton is an amazing man who understands that hate and grudges get him nowhere but into a bottomless pit. I think Thompson is exceptional as well. She was able to admit that she made a terrible mistake and seek Cotton’s forgiveness. The judicial system was against both of them in that she was fed information after her traumatic experience that tainted her memory, as I understand it. DNA was an unsophisticated tool at that time, but it saved him in the end. We stand to learn from the two of them if we choose.

Peace

By: Katherine

Katherine — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:44:40 +0000

Where Cotton bore a strong resemblance to her real attacker I can understand her need to respond to it. But the real question is: is that enough? Was he put away by her identification of him alone? Obviously where he is innocent they, presumably, had no additional incriminating evidence.

To put someone in prison, even in a day without DNA testing, prosecutors should have concrete evidence. Without it, it is wrong.

With that said, is it Thompson’s fault? Her role was victim and made an incorrect ID on a man who strongly resembled her attacker. I think the fault falls on our judicial system – at that time.

Forgiveness is a powerful thing, and excepting the forgiveness is even more powerful. It takes a very strong and special person to forgive in a case like this.

Obviously, the two coming together has strengthened them, and together collaborating on their book creates awareness on the reality of the wrongfully convicted.

Cotton is an amazing man. I hope that he was compensated for his pain and for the years taken from his freedom.