The Ronald Cotton Case, Part 2: Trials & Exoneration

In part two, we follow Ronald Cotton from his decision to talk to police through two trials, decades in prison, and his ultimate DNA exoneration after another man, Bobby Poole, was identified as the true perpetrator. We unpack how racial bias, prior records, blocked expert testimony, and juries’ overreliance on confident eyewitnesses fueled Cotton’s wrongful convictions, and how his and Jennifer Thompson’s advocacy, alongside over 600 DNA exonerations nationwide, has driven reforms in interrogation, lineup procedures, and the use of eyewitness evidence.

Edited by Maxwell Holechek