12 Angry Men was first written as a play by Reginald Rose then made into a movie in 1957 starring Henry Fonda. This riveting story begins in the midst of a jury deciding on a first degree murder charge. The setting is New York City. A teenage Puerto Rican boy from the inner city is charged with murdering his father. The judge has instructed the jury that they must come to unanimous decision. And if they all vote guilty, there will be a mandatory death sentence and the defendant will go to the electric chair.

All of the jurors are white males the majority being middle aged. Their lives are far removed from that of the defendant. After spending six days on the trial they must know come to a decision that decision whether the defendant lives or dies. They refer to one another according to their jury numbers. These nameless men become symbols of the varying views and biases within our society.

As the jurors deliberate, tensions rise. Most of them think it is an easy case to decide. Without putting much thought into their decisions, they are willing to go with the circumstantial evidence presented at trial, and send a young man to his ultimate execution. The majority wants to rush into a decision because they believe the facts of the case to be obvious of the teenagers guilt. They ultimately rush to judgement without considering who the defendant is and what is the truth of the matter.

The jurors each bring their own personal experiences and biases to the table which make coming to a unanimous decision very difficult. To most, the evidence appears to be overwhelming. Neighbors heard a fight between the son and father. During the trial, a witness said he heard the son threaten to kill his father.

The thought provoking plot has the audience examine the prejudices, fear and ignorance we hold against one another as a society. These men represent a microcosm of our greater society. The American justice system as well as the defendant is on trial in this riveting story.

We begin to realize that these men are angry, fearful and culturally bias and their views are tainting the outcome of the trial. Juror 8 knows that the others may in fact carry out a miscarriage of justice if he doesn’t convince them to see past their views. He stands up for the defendant and encourages the others to take a closer look at the facts of the case.

During the very vote, eleven juror vote guilty. But after several hours of deliberating, Juror 8 is able to convince them to turn the vote. They all unanimously vote not guilty. Not only has Juror 8 changed the vote he helped these men to be aware of their damaging views. It also caused the other jurors to self examine their bias views as individuals and as a society.

Juror number 8 is also included in the mindset of 12 Angry Men. He also has issues he must address in order to make a fair and just decision. Juror 8 helps the others to see past their misguided views and see that this is a young man deserving of a fair verdict. Originally the first vote was eleven for guilty and juror number eight being the only dissenting vote. Through his careful analysis and sound arguments with the other jurors, he is able to convince them to change their vote. His persistence for justice saved a life.

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