It was a case of mistaken identity where the troubled raped women chose the wrong boogeyman. Although the conviction was overturned due to DNA evidence, erroneous eyewitness testimony led to an erroneous belief that Burlington police confirmed undoubtedly due to prejudicial feelings toward Judge Ronald Cotton (Thompson-Cannino, Cotton and Tournament 283). Ronald had his entire family testify that he had been at the house the night Jennifer was raped because he had mixed up her dates when he initially confessed that the police assumed he was lying despite what he and his family had said. The other indication of racism in the police force was when the second rape victim did not choose Ronald Cotton from the physical lineup; she claimed that she was terrified of the black men in front of her and that she just needed to leave, even though she knew he saw Ronald raping her (Thompson-Cannino, Cotton, and Torneo 129). Ronald was believed to be guilty and from the beginning he tried to prove his innocence. This simply cannot happen in a justice system where one is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty; racism played a role in the conviction of this innocent man. Even during his second court case, when he was trying to prove his innocence, he remembered hearing the jury turn and look at him, "every one of their white faces" believing how terrible of a man he was (Thompson-Cannino, Cotton and Torneo