12 Angry Men

Premise
NYC Court of Laws. Murder case. Death penalty if found guilty.

Facts
- Old man living beneath the suspect and his father heard a fight
with the suspect saying “I’m gonna kill you” followed by a body
hitting the ground, then saw the defendant running down
- Defendant claims he was at the movies while the whole thing was
happening
- tho, couldn’t remember the name of the movie or who was in
them
- Woman across testified that she saw the suspect kill his father
through the window
- Defendant had an argument with father, resulted in 2 hits from the
father
- Defendant has a list of prior offenses: special mention, slashing
another teen with a knife

Notes
- Jurors presume the defendant is guilty, except #8
- Forces the jury to discuss the case (needs to be unanimous)
- #3 compares suspect to his own son, estranged
- #10 very racist to the defendant
- Murder weapon: Knife “one of a kind”
- #8 shows an identical knife that he bought from a pawn shop
nearby
- Knife is not unique
Current Tally 10 - 2 favor of guilty
- #5 was accused of changing his vote to “not guilty” out of
sympathy
- #9 admits to changing his vote to hear the arguments
- #8 questions validity of the old man living below
- #9 provides a possibility that the old man is just testifying to
feel important
- “I’m gonna kill you” might be a figure of speech
- #5 Changes his vote
Current Tally 9-3 favor of guilty
- Argument on why the boy would return home after killing his father
- #11 Changes votes
Current Tally 8-4 favor of guilty
- #8 raises a question… the old man suffered a stroke and could not
walk fast enough to see the boy run down the stairs in 15 seconds
(mentioned in testimony)
- #8 recreates the floor plan and #2 times him
- Conclusion: Not possible for old man
- #3 gets pissed and attacks #8 “i’ll kill him! i’ll kill him!”
- #8 uses this to prove that the FoS is possible (don’t really
mean it)
Current Tally 6-6 tie
- Defendant unable to remember the movie & actors is due to great
emotional distress
- Knowledge of the boy about the switchblade was questioned
(would not have known to make a “down and in” wound)
- #3, #4 and #10 are the only ones favoring guilty
Current Tally 9-3 favor of not guilty
- #10 rants but is scolded by #4
- #9 questions woman eye witness: she wears glasses but chose not
to wear them in court
- questioning whether or not she actually saw the murder
- #3 is alone in the guilty verdict
Current Tally 11-1 favor of not guilty
- #3 would hold out to make it a hung jury then rants
- #4 and #8 make a plea that convinces #3
Final Verdict: Not Guilty