Extend Analysis 12 Angry MenJustice is a crucial concept for a just and just society. For hundreds of years, countries have developed constitutions and other documents aimed at creating justice for those living within the country. In Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose, the idea of justice is bounced around by twelve men on a jury. These men have the unthinkable decision of whether a suspected killer will be sentenced to death or be allowed to go free. Justice is something that has been discussed a lot for the entire existence of human life. Everyone believes it is important in some way, however many people have different opinions about what is fair and what is unfair. The Twelve Angry Men jury made the right decision possible. To understand In modern and ancient times, court cases do not always support the idea of reasonable doubt. The case in Twelve Angry Men was almost a case where reasonable doubt had not been fully explored. The jury almost found the man guilty before looking at the evidence and making a real decision. The exploitation of reasonable doubt is something that goes beyond crime drama. It is scary to think that one of the main ideas of the justice system is not always supported. A study conducted by several people at the psychology department of the University of Oslo reports several studies on mock court cases. The article explains how reasonable doubt works and how it is used in a courtroom. The certainty of a court case is rated from .1 to .10 (Magnussen, Elertson, Teigen, and Wessel 196). The article states that .9 is sufficient to claim beyond a reasonable doubt in a court case. This threshold would have to be met to convict someone of a serious crime. However, this article states that in many cases this threshold is not reached. In many of the simulated trials studied, the threshold reached in most cases was only 0.6 (Magnussen, Elertson, Teigen, and Wessell 200). The authors of the article gloss over how this is a bit concerning. Many court cases do not receive the treatment they deserve. A decision with a certainty level of 0.6 should not be found guilty under the definition of reasonable doubt. Some may argue that it protects the rights of the accused and grants several rights specifically to these people. One of the rights is an impartial jury. In almost all cases, the jury is the most important part of the trial. They are the ones who decide whether a defendant is innocent or guilty. Twelve Angry Men focuses on a jury's decision. This jury must decide whether a young man is worthy of the death penalty or can walk free. The right of a jury can be guaranteed, however it is difficult to confirm that it is completely impartial and focused on the case at hand. Many jurors have other things on their minds or assumptions about the defendant that are not based on the case. Juror seven is one of the jurors who has other goals than a fair court case. “It's better to hurry. I got tickets to a baseball game tonight. Yankees---Cleveland…” (Rose 9) He is extremely impatient and is only focused on the baseball game he has tickets for. This is an example of a juror not focusing on the case at hand. Other jurors had previously speculated that they showed prejudice and hatred toward the defendant. Juror Ten was a very bigoted and racist man who showed clear hatred for the defendant. “Now you damn geniuses better listen to me. They are violent, they are evil, they are ignorant, and they will tear us apart” (Rose 65). This shows another clear example of prejudice and hatred. The right to a
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