The Legal And Social Aspects Of The Movie ‘12 Angry Men’

Aditya Sen, Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad

ABSTRACT

The film 12 Angry Men is a legal courtroom drama directed by one of the famous American directors of the 1950s named Sidney Lumet. The film portrays the message of the importance of a jury in a democratic country. The film is all about an 18-year-old boy charged with killing his father. A jury was set up, which consisted of 12 men who belonged to different professions. According to the court’s proofs and judgements, the jury’s role was to discuss whether the 18- year-old boy was guilty of killing his father or not guilty. The film’s location is based on a secret room where only the jury members were allowed. The jurors decided to vote by raising hands whether they supported the boy to be given capital punishment at the first-degree murder trial or not. According to the rule, the jury members must give the same verdict to pass on to the high court. A poll was organized in which 11out of 12 jurors voted guilty while one of them that is juror number 8 voted for non-guilty. This created a bewildered situation in the room. Juror number 8 justified that the boy was just 18 years of age and it would be very imbecile to come to a sudden decision. The whole movie is all about how that one person that is juror number 8 provides his smart and cunning points towards the case he witnessed and changing the other juror's mindset. Will juror number 8 able to change the mindset of the other juror and protect the boy from the capital punishment?

Keywords: Democracy, Prejudices and Guilt, Justice