The flawed justice system of the United States
Have you ever pondered the issues with the American justice system? Twelve Angry Men depicts factors that negatively affect the fairness of the American justice system. Reginald Rose uses Twelve Angry Men as a commentary on the unfairness of the American justice system, notice the actions of jurors 3, 2, and 10.
The jury in Twelve Angry Men was considerably conflicted and consisted of inadequate jurors. A good example of this is juror 3’s eagerness to vote as quickly as possible. “All right, who did it? What idiot changed his vote,” inquired juror 3. (Rose, 27). The above quote proves my thesis as it is depicting juror 3’s annoyance with the necessary continuation of the trial. While this may
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These jurors may hold racial bias. A good example of this is juror 10’s clear mistrust of African American individuals. “Look, you know how these people lie. I don’t have to tell you. They don’t know what the truth is,” said juror 10. (Rose, 59). This quote clearly exposes juror 10’s bias against the race of the defendant, notice the use of the word “they”. While this may show that bias is a problem, bias is far from the only problem.
Another problem is suggestibility. Certain jurors can be easily swayed. A good example of this is juror 2 promptly adopting the opinions of the other jurors without much reason. “Oh. Well… I just think he’s guilty. I thought it was obvious. I mean that nobody proved otherwise,” said juror 2. (Rose, 17&18). This quote shows juror 2’s suggestibility as juror 2 provides no reason for his verdict other than the fact that the other jurors voted guilty.
While there is no single source for the flaws in the American justice system, the American justice system is certainly flawed. Among these flaws are personal bias, a disregard for human life, and suggestibility. Reginald Rose’s Twelve Angry Men depicts the flaws of the American justice system notably well. And while no individual can easily change a broken system, a large group of people can push for change. Every individual counts. Even