12 Angry Men

                Each juror in the film is under a ton of pressure with several different causes to that pressure. For example in the beginning of the film when the jurors first decide on guilty or not guilty juror number 8, played by Henry Fonda, is under a lot of pressure by the rest of the jury because he is the only one who voted not guilty in a case where the evidence was stacked against him. Another example is juror number 1 who is played by Martin Balsam. His character is in charge of keeping the jury in order and running the entire ordeal. He is under constant pressure to try to keep the room full of 12 angry men inline, focused and altogether efficient which means making sure they keep their cool.  

                Many of the jurors are effected by their past and this impacts their views and ultimately their verdict in the case. For example juror number 3, played by Lee J. Cobb, had a troubled past with his son. He taught his son how to fight after watching him run from a fight. Soon after they had an argument and that was the last time he saw his son. This incident is what final gets him to breakdown and change his vote in the end of the film. Another character affected by their past is Ed Begley who plays juror number 10. This character is very racist and obviously has something against Latinos and this is shown in his outbreaks and shocking comments about the boy.

                I disagree with the statement: “it is better for nine guilty people to go free than one innocent person to go to prison.” If someone who has committed a murder is not found guilty then there is a good chance they will do it again. Prisons are meant to set their inmates straight and to keep them out of the public until they are ready to reintegrate.  If 9 men are found not guilty of murder and allowed back on the streets then that  9 murders who feel almost untouchable even by the government because they were set free. Let’s take the boy for example. If he did kill his father he already has a troubled past and several other minor offenses so he would not learn anything by simply appearing in court and then being set free. There is a very high chance he will strike again.