12 Angry Men Reasonable Doubt Analysis

n the story right from the very beginning, all of the jurors were certain this 16-year-old kid had committed murder, but that changed. Doubt, inspired by Juror 8, caused them to not convict the young kid. In the very beginning of the play it is said, “Right. Ok, eleven to one - ‘guilty’ (11). This shows how certain people can feel, but it means nothing. The eleven other jurors soon saw reasons to doubt the evidence provided to them. People are reasonable enough to be willing to listen, and potentially change their opinion. In the end all of the jurors see the doubt, in the book it is said, “…All right. ‘Not Guilty.’” (72). Doubt is always a factor in every situation, few times is somebody ever 100% certain about something. In the play Juror
You have to be certain that the evidence proves the defendant guilty. So in the case of court doubt is more powerful than certainty is. As certain as the other jurors were about the kid being guilty the doubt of Juror 8 saved the kids life. In 12 Angry Men at the beginning of the case only juror 8 truly saw the reasonable doubt in this case, so he was doing the proper thing voting not guilty. At first there was the evidence of the knife being one of a kind which juror 8 proved wrong by have an exact replica. The doubt was that maybe somebody else had bought another knife just like the one the kid has, and killed the father. Then there was also doubt in whether the old man actually saw the 16-year-old run down the steps and across the hall. Doubt in both of these pieces of evidence cause multiple jurors to change their vote to not
It is hard to be certain about things that mean so much. Doubt is having more power because it is easy to be doubtful, and extremely hard to be certain. Juror 4 showed this when he had doubt about whether or not the women from across the street could see the murder perfectly without glasses on. Certain is being sure, and not thinking about it twice. Doubt makes you rethink, and question yourself. Doubt can drive you crazy. It is not shocking when being a juror, and having reason to doubt if a young kid is guilty, you vote not guilty. Certainty and doubt are very opposite of each other. While one is being sure about something, the other is having reason to believe something is not true. In 12 Angry Men doubt saved the life of the defendant. None of the Jurors were certain that he was guilty. This shows that doubt is stronger than certainty is. Doubt is very