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In the 1980's, Southern Baptist was the dominant religion in North Carolina. This could impact the outcome of this story based on people's beliefs of what is right and wrong according to their spiritual beliefs. Ronald Cotton, Jennifer Thompson-Cannino's alleged rapist, actually turned to prayer when he was incarcerated. "We'd all come up Baptist, although most of us slipped along the way. When we were kids, we hated having it shoved down our throats. But I did reach for the Bible while I was incarcerated. At first, it was more like homesickness that made me pick it up. I read it because it was familiar, and always available in the penitentiary. (Pg. 119, Cotton and Thompson-Cannino).

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In the southern states like North Carolina where this story takes place, racial issues have always been more prevalent since the days of Jim Crow. Because of this, interracial dating was looked down upon, it was even seen as sinful. After the rape of of Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, one of the reasons why the authorities justified the arrest of Ronald Cotton is because he was known to date white women, and Ms. Thompson-Cannino was white. "Like a lot of people in town, he didn't like the fact that I had dated white girls. Sometimes walking around , you could feel the racism like a pilot light always on in the back of people's minds, flickering, and just waiting to get turned up." (Pg. 84, Cotton and Thompson-Cannino).