【Chat】Twelve Angry Men

[Giovano 10]

Twelve jurors gathered in a small, hot, and humid room because they wanted to decide a boy’s destiny. Eleven of them thought the boy was guilty, but a juror thought he was not guilty. The only one thought the boy’s guilt was not beyond a reasonable doubt. He finally persuaded others to change their mind to not guilty. The movie focused on one room, but the dramatic content led the audiences all the way to the end.

This movie really told me a good story; moreover, it illustrated the very important concept. The defendant was looked like an ethnic minority; some of the jurors had prejudices against him. They did not want to look into the fact; they just wanted to end the case as quickly as possible. Juror number eight wanted everybody to check the evidence—the murder weapon because he could prove that the knife could be easily purchased on the street. The jury had a long argument to come to a not guilty conclusion.

If I am selected to be a juror, I will remember this movie. I won’t have a prejudice established in my mind so I can look into the fact. If the evidence is not strong enough to prove that the defendant is guilty, I will reconsider over and over again. I will do the same thing as Henry Fonda did; I will persuade others to think it over because twelve people can decide a man’s life. Insisting on the right thing is important.

The only problem is I am not an U.S. citizen so the situation above will never happen on me.

I also praise this system because all the jurors have to come to a conclusion. If one of them disagrees, they have to discuss. The dissenters have to explain their reasons to convince others, or others have to convince them. Some time the truth needs to be dug out during the procedure. If some of them do have prejudice toward specific groups of people, others will challenge and examine them. I think this system is better than that a judge can decide whether a suspect is guilty or not. Of course the jury can be selected by the attorneys before the court begins. The attorneys will carefully select those who have no prejudice or are prone to agree with their client. These procedures are designed to make sure that everyone is equally treated in the court of law.

Grison said in the C.S.I. show, “Follow the evidence!” I think following the evidence will eventually bring up the truth.

PS: Did you watch this movie yet?

[evenstar 10]

I recall that his name is Grissom. And yes, it is a great movie.