The Importance Of The Jury System In 12 Angry Men

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According to a multitude of individuals’ opinions, the jury system is outdated, unbeneficial and a misinterpretation of justice. Jurors are burdened with the responsibility to decide a person’s future, and oftentimes, they lack the necessary knowledge to do so effectively. The misguidedness of a jury are depicted in Henry Fonda’s and Reginald Rose’s 1957 film, 12 Angry Men. This film focuses on the jury’s struggles to agree on what is justice for a murder case. Their deliberations prove that the jury system is an inadequate means for the legal system to determine a verdict because jurors tend to feel pressure to conform, overlook facts and retain prejudiced viewpoints.
The matter of conformity is not only a common issue in everyday life, but it creates discrepancies with the juror’s votes and poses a flaw in the court system. Frequently, people do not wish to serve jury duty, and therefore take a disinterest in what is happening. Most individuals would rather get the trial over with quickly than take the time out to morally fulfill their obligation. Juror 7 demonstrates this passivity in 12 Angry Men when he abruptly changes his vote to not guilty. While being questioned for it, the only reasoning her gives is that he wanted to get the deliberations over with. Juror 7 displays his disregard for what happens in the trial and dissolves his opinion on what he believes to be true. He allows Juror 8 to easily persuade him without
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These facts are manifested in the film, 12 Angry Men, and prove that some trials have an unfair outcome, contradicting the believed purpose of juries. In order to prevent this arbitrary, only knowledgeable people should be carefully selected to determine the future of individuals. We must protect the accused persons, the legal system, and most importantly, our

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