Why Is It So Difficult for the Jury in Twelve Angry Men to Reach Its Final Verdict?

Why is it so difficult for the jury in Twelve Angry Men to reach its final verdict?

"Yeah, let's vote. Who knows, maybe we can all go home", says the 7th Juror in "Twelve Angry Men". In his 1959 play Reginald Rose explores the importance of the jury system within a democracy at a time when the issue of capital punishment was bitterly contested in America. This drama highlights The view that prejudice, personal feelings and stubbornness restrict our decisions and the choices that are made. This is because the jury find it difficult to reach a final verdict. Prejudice and personal feelings blind a juror from the truth and being stubborn causes the verdict to be prolonged.

Personal prejudice can influence a juror's decision and impact on the case and its final verdict. When a juror is blinded by prejudice they cannot see the facts and truth that are presented in front of them. Prejudice conflicts with opinions and also with other jurors. The 10th Juror is blinded by personal prejudice which is hatred and rebuke for the people of slum background. He agrees with the 4th juror when he said 'children from slum backgrounds are potential menaces to society'. The 10th Juror even said 'They are multiplying five times as fast as we are,' 'wild animals', 'They breed line animals'. This is illustrated by his vexatious behaviour to the topic of 'slum people/background'. His behaviour or prejudice influences on his decisions and his verdict. It also causes disruption to the jury system as he is blinded by rage and prejudice obscuring the truth, causing a biased verdict.

Similar to prejudice, personal feelings can dictate the decisions of a juror and influence the verdict of the case. When a juror becomes too attached or too involved in the case it can cause unnecessary disruptions and corrupted decisions. The 3rd Juror became too personally involved and allowed his personal feelings to sway his thoughts. He claimed to be the boys 'executioner' and that 'he's got to burn'. Illustrating that the 3rd juror has related this case to his feelings towards his own son and how he did not punish his son and he will punish this boy on trial in replacement. 'I can feel the knife going in'. Describes to the jurors that he felt so attached to the case that he became deluded causing his decision to become tainted. Being swayed and tainted by personal feelings causes the juror to be blinded and restricted from the facts and truth in front of him. This disrupts the verdict and decisions made.

When jurors are stubborn and cannot accept the facts it delays the final verdict and it makes the case harder to resolve. Stubbornness is very similar to prejudice and personal feelings, it can sway, influence and impact on the decisions that are made.

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