Reading finding freedom in forgiveness, I was very inspired by the strength that both Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton showed in forgiving each other and becoming friends. In 1984 Jennifer was positive that Ronald Cotton was the man that had raped her, however after Ronald had spent 11 years in jail, DNA tests proved Ronald Cotton was innocent of the crime. I can not imagine the difficulty that this conclusion was for either of them. For Ronald he knew he had just spent eleven years of his life in jail for a crime he did not commit and Jennifer now has to live with the guilt of sending an innocent man to prison. Both Ronald and Jennifer were able to get over their anger and guilt they were feeling and became friends, Ronald states that they were both “victims of the same injustice by the same man and this gave them a common ground to stand on.” The two were able to help each other get over their previous hatred and forgive. Without forgiving as Jennifer says you are simply a “prisoner in your own hatred.” I can only imagine how much strength is must have taken Jennifer and Ronald to be able to forgive each other and become friends, and if I was in either of their situations I would hope I would also have the strength to forgive.
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