12 Angry Men was a very popular film in the late 1950s starring Henry Fonda. A jury must decide on a murder case that holds a first degree murder conviction. A 19 year old Puerto Rican but from the inner city is on trial for the murder of his father. His father was stabbed to death with a pocket knife. The jury is instructed that a guilty verdict will lead to a mandatory death sentence and that their vote must be unanimous.

Twelve jurors, all male spend the next several, painstaking hours deciding on the case before them. As their names and identities are kept hidden from each other, the jurors refer to each other by their jury number. Names are never used. This is symbolic of the prejudice that exists in man and how as a society we access individuals based on race, class and other outward identifiers.

The jurors spend several uncomfortable hours arguing over the facts of the case. Most of them are content with a guilty verdict. But for one juror, the stakes are too grave to rush into a verdict of convenience. Juror number 8 decides to dissent from the popular opinion and persuade his fellow jurors to see past their particular views. And in doing so, reasonable doubt settles into the minds of these men.

The jurors bring their own personal experiences and biases to the table which make coming to a unanimous decision very difficult. To most, the evidence appears to be overwhelming. But a closer inspection of the evidence gets way to reasonable doubt.

This thought provoking story has the audience examine the deep set prejudices based on fear and ignorance we hold against one another as a society. These men, all white, must decide the fate of a poor, uneducated Puerto Rican teenage boy. Many cannot relate to his situation, some display total indifference to his fate. Not only is this defendant on trial but so is the American Justice system as the story moves on to explore the weaknesses judicial in the system.

As we become familiar with the jurors, we begin to realize that their anger, fear, bias philosophies and cultural ignorance may hinder them from making a fair and just decision on the verdict of the case. But there is one particular juror that stands up for the defendant, ultimately standing up for justice. He is known as juror number 8.

The first vote among the jurors does not have a favorable result for the defendant. Eleven vote guilty. But juror number 8 stands his ground that the evidence is not strong enough to lead to a guilty verdict. And slowly he convinces the others to change their vote.

Juror number eight is able to successfully convince the others that there is enough reasonable doubt not to vote guilty. The others are able to look past their prejudices and now fairly examine the evidence. Because to the courage and persistence of one man, a life is spared which is a deeper lesson on how no matter how many we may be up against, it is important to stand up for what is just and fair. The 12 Angry Men become aware of their biases and from this experience they have learned how damaging their views can be.

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