Ten disagrees, saying the kid received a fair trial, and that the jurors don’t owe his kind of untrustworthy people anything. Eight points out that the boy had a terrible life growing up, and he feels the kid deserves their deliberation. Eight says he voted “not guilty” because there were already eleven votes for “guilty” and it’s not so easy to send a man to his death without discussing the trial first. Eight asks him where one looks to see if a man is a killer. Everyone votes “guilty” except for juror Eight who votes “not guilty.” Three is surprised as this and says that one could tell the boy was a murderer just by looking at him. Seven hopes they might already be in accord. The group decides to vote immediately to see where they stand. Ten says that it probably serves the dead father right for letting his kid run wild as all those “kind of people” do. The Foreman calls the group to order, and Seven hopes the proceedings will be quick, as he has tickets to a Broadway show that night. The youth claimed he lost the switch knife, which he was known to have purchased, on the night of the crime. Three complains that the six-day trial could have been finished in two days, and Seven agrees, stating that “that business about the knife” was the phoniest story he ever heard. Years later, the Foreman says, the man was discovered to be guilty, after all. The jurors discuss Four’s hand-tailored suit, and the Foreman offers a story about his uncle, a tailor, who once served on a murder trial where the accused was acquitted. The jurors converse as they settle into the jury room: Seven offers chewing gum and complains of the heat, Five is surprised that the Guard locks the door to the room, and Twelve worries about missing his job in advertising. The accused is a youth from a poor urban area who is on trial for killing his father with a switch knife. The charge is murder in the first degree, and the judge reminds the jurors that they must base their unanimous decision of “guilty” or “not guilty” on whether or not there is “reasonable doubt” in their minds as to the guilt of the accused. Twelve jurors retire to the jury room as a murder trial concludes.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |