Every person may have his own way of defining the term "reasonable doubt." In the play "Twelve Angry Men", by Reginald Rose, one juror, number Eight, stands alone against 11 others to convince them that the boy is not guilty. He looks beyond the given testimonies in order to give the boy a fair trial, though this is more then the others think the boy deserves. If the jury finds a "reasonable doubt", it must declare an innocent verdict.
A young man stands accused of fatally stabbing his father, and his fate now lies in the hands of his "peers:" 12 men from all walks of life, each with his own agenda, fears and personal demons. At first, based on their conversation, it seems that it will be a unanimous conviction.The first vote is taken and one man stands out; his confidence to stand alone is strong. He is the only man voting not guilty. His opinion is reasonable; he feels that there is no way to prove it was the boy, saying the testimonies given were shaky. The others do not agree on this, arguing that the boy comes from a slum and one can't expect more from someone with this upbringing. Eight goes into the case assuming the boy is innocent, while the others attribute guilt to him. He first brings in a knife directl
There are some people in life who like to make things more difficult for others, the way Juror Three did. He was stubborn and did not wish to see anyone else's point of view. One will always have a "Juror Three" in his life. It is up to a person to take a stand like Juror Eight, and fight for what he believes in even if it is against the majority.
Juror Three is the last juror to change his vote; nothing anyone says can convince him that there is a "reasonable doubt" in the case. This man was the most stubborn of all. He refused to pay attention to things that were being stated in order save the defendant from death. It was as if the word guilty seemed to dwell in his mind and was unable to be altered. He becomes outraged that the others are changing their votes and letting this kid "slip through their fingers." He says that the whole case is based on the testimony of the woman across the el-tracks. The jurors play out the murder to themselves, and talk about the lady across the street. They notice several things about her. The lady claimed that she saw the murder through the last two cars on the train that was passing. A juror also noticed that she had indents in her nose which means she wore glasses. She never m
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