[1 of 2] "Twelve Angry Men, Act I," by Reginald Rose, (1955, 1997)
Author: Reginald Rose
Rose, Reginald. “Act I.” Twelve Angry Men, Penguin Books, New York, 1955, pp. 1–56.
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1ST JUROR (FOREMAN)
2ND JUROR
3RD JUROR
4TH JUROR
5TH JUROR
6TH JUROR
7TH JUROR
8TH JUROR
9TH JUROR
10TH JUROR
11TH JUROR
12TH JUROR
GUARD
JUDGE’S VOICE
Setting—The jury room of a New York Court of Law Time—1957
ACT I
The jury room of a New York Court of Law, 1957. A very hot summer afternoon.
It is a large, drab, bare room in need of painting, with three windows in the back wall through which can be seen the New York skyline. Off the jury room is a washroom with Washbasin, soap, and towels (visible on stage) and a lavatory beyond. Alarge, scarred table is center with twelve chairs around it. A bench stands against the wall and there are several extra chairs and a small table in the room, plus a watercooler, with paper cups and a wastebasket and an electric fan over the bench and a clock above the cooler and row of hooks for coats, with a shelf over it. There are pencils, pads, and ashtrays on the table. At night the room is lit by fluorescent lighting with the switch next to the door.
When the CURTAIN rises, the room is empty. The voice of the JUDGE is heard.
JUDGE’S VOICE … and that concludes the court’s explanation of the legal aspects of this case.
And now, gentlemen of the jury, I come to my final instruction to you.
Murder in the first degree—premeditated homicide—is the most serious charge tried in our criminal courts.
You’ve listened to the testimony and you’ve had the law read to you and interpreted as it applies to this case.
It now becomes your duty to try and separate the facts from the fancy.
One man is dead.
The life of another is at stake.
I urge you to deliberate honestly and thoughtfully.
If there is a reasonable doubt—then you must bring me a verdict of “not guilty.”
If, however, there is no reasonable doubt—then you must, in good conscience, find the accused guilty.
However you decide, your verdict must be unanimous.
In the event you find the accused guilty, the bench will not entertain a recommendation for mercy.
The death sentence is mandatory in this
case.
The door opens and the GUARD enters. He carries a clipboard with a list of the jurors.
I don’t envy you your job. You are faced with a grave responsibility. Thank you, gentlemen.
There is a brief pause. Sound of JURORS walking, talking.
GUARD: All right, let’s move along, gentlemen.
The JURORS enter.
The GUARD checks his list.
The 9TH JUROR, an old man, crosses, goes into the washroom, and exits to the lavatory.
The 4TH JUROR begins to read a newspaper. Several JURORS open the windows. Others move awkwardly about the room. There is no conversation for a few moments. The 3RD JUROR takes out some notes and studies them. The 2ND JUROR crosses to the watercooler, and gets a cup of water. The FOREMAN tears sheet from a notepad and tears up little slips of paper for ballots. The GUARD crosses to the 12TH JUROR and checks his name. The 7TH JUROR crosses to the 4TH JUROR and offers him a stick of gum. The 4TH JUROR shakes his head.
7TH JUROR [turning to the 8TH JUROR]: Do you want some gum?
8TH JUROR [smiling]: No, thanks.
The 7TH JUROR vigorously chews a piece of gum himself and crosses to the 6TH JUROR.
7TH JUROR [mopping his brow]: Y’know something? I phoned up for the weather. This is the hottest day of the year.
The 6TH JUROR nods and gazes out of the window.
You’d think they’d at least air-condition the place. I almost dropped dead in court.
GUARD: OK, gentlemen. Everybody’s here. If there’s anything you want, I’m right outside. Just knock.
The Guard exits and in the silence the sound is heard of the door being locked.
5TH JUROR: I never knew they locked the door.
10TH JUROR: Sure they lock the door. What’d you think?
5TH JUROR: I don’t know. It just never occurred to me.
The 10TH JUROR crosses and pauses beside the FOREMAN and indicates the slips of paper.
10TH JUROR: Hey, what’s that for?
FOREMAN: Well, I figured we might want to vote by ballots.
10TH JUROR: Great idea! Maybe we can get him elected senator. [He laughs until he begins to cough.]
The FOREMAN looks at his watch and compares it with the clock. The 3RD JUROR takes a cup of water from the watercooler, moves to the 2ND JUROR, and looks around the room as he sips the water.
3RD JUROR [to the 2ND JUROR]: How’d you like it?
2ND JUROR [mildly]: I don’t know, it was pretty interesting.
3RD JUROR: Yeah? I was falling asleep.
2ND JUROR: I mean, I’ve never been on a jury before.
3RD JUROR: Really? I’ve sat on juries, and it always amazes me the way these lawyers can talk, and talk and talk, even when the case is as obvious as this one. I mean, did you ever hear so much talk about nothing?
2ND JUROR: Well, I guess they’re entitled.
3RD JUROR: Sure they are. Everybody deserves a fair trial. That’s the system. Listen, I’m the last one to say anything against it, but I’m telling you sometimes I think we’d be better off if we took these tough kids and slapped ’em down before they make trouble, you know? Save us a lot of time and money.
The 2ND JUROR looks nervously at the 3RD JUROR, nods, rises, moves to the watercooler, refills his cup and stands alone, sipping.
7TH JUROR [to the FOREMAN]: Hey, how about getting started here?
3RD JUROR: Yeah, let’s get this over with. We’ve probably all got things to do.
FOREMAN: Well, I was figuring we’d take a five-minute break. I mean, the old man’s in the bathroom…
5TH JUROR [to the FOREMAN, hesitantly]: Are we going to sit in order?
FOREMAN: I don’t know.
The 8TH JUROR is looking out the window.
12TH JUROR [to the 8TH JUROR]: Not a bad view.
The 8TH JUROR nods.
What d’you think of the case?
The 8TH JUROR doesn’t answer.
It had a lot of interest for me. No dead spots—know what I mean? I’ll tell you we werelucky to get a murder case. I figured us for a burglary or an assault or something. Those can be the dullest. [He looks out of the window.] Say, isn’t that the Woolworth Building?
8TH JUROR: That’s right.
12TH JUROR: Funny, I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never been in it.
The 8TH JUROR gazes out of the window. The 12TH JUROR looks at him for a moment then moves away.
7TH JUROR [to the 10TH JUROR]: Goddamn waste of time. [He laughs.]
10TH JUROR: Yeah, can you imagine, sitting there for three days just for this?
7TH JUROR: And what about that business with the knife? I mean, asking grown-up people to believe that kind of bullshit.
10TH JUROR: Well, look, you’ve gotta expect that.
You know what you’re dealing
with.
7TH JUROR: Yeah, I suppose so.
The 10TH JUROR blows his nose vigorously.
What’s the matter, you got a cold?
10TH JUROR: And how. These hot weather colds can kill you. I can hardly touch mynose. Know what I mean? [He blows his nose loudly.]
7TH JUROR: Well, your horn’s all right. Now try your lights. [He climbs on to the bench and tries the fan.] Oh, that’s beautiful, the fan doesn’t work. [He steps down.] Somebody take a letter to the mayor. “Dear Stingy . . .”
FOREMAN [about the fan]: Let me take a look at it.
The 3RD JUROR moves above the 4TH JUROR, leans over and scans the 4TH JUROR’s newspaper. The FOREMAN climbs on the bench and examines the fan.
It doesn’t work. [He climbs down.]
3RD JUROR [to the 4TH JUROR]: I didn’t get a chance to look at the newspapers today. Anything new going on?
4TH JUROR: I was just wondering how the market closed.
3RD JUROR: I wouldn’t know. Say, are you on the Exchange or something?
4TH JUROR: I’m a broker.
3RD JUROR: Really? I run a messenger service. “The Beck and Call Company.” The name’s my wife’s idea. I employ thirty-seven people. . . . Started with nothing.
7TH JUROR [looking at his watch]: Hey, Mr. Foreman, let’s go. What d’you say?
FOREMAN: All right, gentlemen. Let’s take seats.
7TH JUROR [to the 2ND JUROR]: This better be fast. I got tickets to a ball game tonight. Yankees—Cleveland. We got this new kid pitching, Modjelewski, or whatever his name is. He’s a bull, this kid. [He shoots his hand forward and out to indicate the path of a curve ball.] Shhooooom. A real jug handle.
There is no reaction at all from the 2ND JUROR.
You’re quite a ball fan, aren’t you? [He turns to the FOREMAN.] Where do you want us to sit?
FOREMAN: Well, I was thinking we ought to sit in order, by jury numbers. [He points with each number.] Two, three, four, and so on, if that’s OK with you gentlemen?
10TH JUROR: What’s the difference?
4TH JUROR: I think it’s reasonable to sit according to number.
10TH JUROR [rising]: Let it be. [He moves and sits on chair 10.]
The JURORS begin to take their seats. The 8TH JUROR continues to stare out of the window. The 9TH JUROR is still in the lavatory.
12TH JUROR [to the 11TH JUROR]: What was your impression of the prosecuting attorney?
11TH JUROR [with a German accent]: I beg pardon?
12TH JUROR: I thought he was really sharp. I mean, the way he hammered home his points, one by one, in logical sequence. It takes a good brain to do that. I was very impressed.
11TH JUROR: Yes, I think he did an expert job
12TH JUROR: Imean, he had a lot of drive, too. Real drive.
7TH JUROR: OK, let’s get this show on the road.
FOREMAN [to the 8TH JUROR]: How about sitting down?
The 8TH JUROR does not hear the FOREMAN.
The gentleman at the window.
The 8TH JUROR turns, startled.
How about sitting down?
8TH JUROR: Oh, I’m sorry. [He moves to his chair and sits.]
The 9TH JUROR enters the washroom from the lavatory and washes his hands.
10TH JUROR [across the table to the 4TH JUROR]: It’s pretty tough to figure, isn’t it?A kid kills his father. Bing! Just like that.
12TH JUROR: Well, if you analyze the figures . . .
10TH JUROR: What figures? It’s those people! I’m tellin’ you they let the kids run wild up there. Well, maybe it serves ’em right. Know what I mean?
The FOREMAN crosses to the washroom door.
7TH JUROR [to the 5TH JUROR]: Hey, you a Yankee fan?
5TH JUROR: No. Milwaukee.
7TH JUROR: Milwaukee! That’s like being hit on the head with a crowbar once a day. Listen, who they got—I’m asking you, who they got besides great groundskeepers?
FOREMAN [to the 9TH JUROR]: We’d like to get started.
The 9TH JUROR enters from the washroom.
9TH JUROR: I’m sorry.
The 9TH JUROR crosses and takes his seat.
7TH JUROR: Milwaukee!
FOREMAN: All right. Now you gentlemen can handle this any way you want to. I mean, I’m not going to have any rules. If we want to discuss first and then vote, that’s one way. Or we can vote right now to see how we stand. [He pauses and looks around.] Well, that’s all I have to say.
4TH JUROR: I think it’s customary to take a preliminary vote.
7TH JUROR: Yeah, let’s vote. Who knows, maybe we can all go home.
FOREMAN: It’s up to you. Just let’s remember we’ve got a first degree murder charge here. If we vote “guilty,” we send the accused to the electric chair. That’s mandatory.
4TH JUROR: I think we all know that.
3RD JUROR: Come on, let’s vote.
10TH JUROR: Yeah, let’s see who’s where.
FOREMAN: Anybody doesn’t want to vote? [He looks around.]
The others are silent.
All right. This has to be a twelve-to-nothing vote either way. That’s the law. OK, are we ready? All those voting “guilty” raise your hands.
Seven or eight hands go up immediately. Several others go up more slowly. Everyone looks around the table as the FOREMAN rises and begins to count hands. The 9TH JUROR’s hand goes up now, and all hands are raised except the 8TH JUROR’s. . . .
Nine—ten—eleven. That’s eleven for “guilty.” OK. “Not guilty”?
The 8TH JUROR slowly raises his hand.
One. Right. OK, eleven to one—“guilty.” Now we know where we are. [He resumes his seat.]
10TH JUROR: Boy-oh-boy! There’s always one.
7TH JUROR [after a pause]: So, what do we do now?
8TH JUROR: Well, I guess we talk.
10TH JUROR: Boy-oh-boy!
3RD JUROR [leaning over toward the 8TH JUROR]: Well, look, do you really think he’s innocent?
8TH JUROR: I don’t know.
3RD JUROR: I mean, let’s be reasonable. You sat in court and heard the same things we did. The man’s a dangerous killer. You could see it.
8TH JUROR: The man! He’s sixteen years old.
3RD JUROR: Well, that’s old enough. He knifed his own father. Four inches into the chest.
6TH JUROR [to the 8TH JUROR]: It’s pretty obvious. I mean, I was convinced from the first day.
3RD JUROR: Well, who wasn’t? [To the 8TH JUROR.] I really think this is one of those open and shut things. They proved it a dozen different ways. Would you like me to list them for you?
8TH JUROR: No.
10TH JUROR: Then what do you want?
8TH JUROR: Nothing. I just want to talk.
7TH JUROR: Well, what’s there to talk about? Eleven men here agree. Nobody had to think twice about it, except you.
10TH JUROR: I want to ask you something. Do you believe his story?
8TH JUROR: I don’t know whether I believe it or not. Maybe I don’t.
7TH JUROR: So what’d you vote “not guilty” for?
8TH JUROR: There were eleven votes for “guilty.” It’s not easy for me to raise myhand and send a boy off to die without talking about it first.
7TH JUROR: Who says it’s easy for me?
8TH JUROR: No one.
7TH JUROR: What, just because I voted fast? I think the guy’s guilty. You couldn’t change my mind if you talked for a hundred years.
8TH JUROR: I’m not trying to change your mind. It’s just that we’re talking about somebody’s life here. I mean, we can’t decide in five minutes. Suppose we’re wrong?
7TH JUROR: Suppose we’re wrong! Suppose this whole building fell on my head. You can suppose anything.
8TH JUROR: That’s right.
7TH JUROR [after a pause]: What’s the difference how long it takes? We honestly think he’s guilty. So suppose we finish in five minutes? So what?
8TH JUROR: Let’s take an hour. The ball game doesn’t start till eight o’clock.
7TH JUROR [smiling]: OK, slugger, be my guest.
There is a silence.
FOREMAN [hesitantly]: Well, who’s got something to say?
He looks at the 2ND JUROR
How about you?
2ND JUROR: Not me.
9TH JUROR: I’m willing to put in an hour.
10TH JUROR: Great. I heard a pretty good story last night. This woman comes running into the doctor’s office, stripped to the waist—
8TH JUROR: That’s not what we’re sitting here for.
10TH JUROR: All right, then you tell me. What are we sitting here for?
8TH JUROR: Maybe for no reason. I don’t know. Look, this boy’s been kicked around all his life. You know—living in a slum, his mother dead since he was nine. He spent a year and a half in an orphanage while his father served a jail term for forgery. That’s not a very good head start. He’s had a pretty terrible sixteen years. I think maybe weowe him a few words. That’s all.
10TH JUROR: I don’t mind telling you this, mister. We don’t owe him a thing. He got a fair trial, didn’t he? What d’you think the trial cost? He’s lucky he got it. Know what I mean? [He rises and looks around at the others.] Look, we’re all grown-ups here.We heard the facts, didn’t we? Now, you’re not going to tell us that we’re supposed to believe that kid, knowing what he is. Listen, I’ve lived among ’em all my life. You can’t believe a word they say. I mean, they’re born liars.
9TH JUROR: It suddenly occurs to me that you must be an ignorant man.
10TH JUROR: What do you mean? What’s he talking about?
9TH JUROR: Do you think you have a monopoly on the truth?
10TH JUROR: What are you making a Federal Case out of it for? [To the others.] How d’ya like this guy?
9TH JUROR [to the others]: I think certain things should be pointed out to this man.
3RD JUROR: All right. It’s not Sunday. We don’t need a sermon in here.
10TH JUROR: Monopoly! For Chrissakes.
The 9TH JUROR half rises but then feels the 8TH JUROR’s hand firmly on his arm, gently pulling him down. The 12TH JUROR doodles on his notepad.
4TH JUROR: If we’re going to discuss this case, let’s stick to the facts.
FOREMAN: Right. We have a job to do. Let’s do it. Maybe if the gentleman who’s disagreeing down there could tell us why. You know, tell us what he thinks—we could show him where he’s probably mixed up.
11TH JUROR [looking at the 12TH JUROR’s doodle]: What are you doing?
12TH JUROR: Mmm? Oh. [He holds up the doodle.] It’s one of the products I work on at the ad agency. Rice Pops. “The Breakfast with the Built-in Bounce.” I wrote that line.
11TH JUROR [smiling in spite of himself ]: It’s very catchy.
FOREMAN: If you don’t mind!
The 2ND JUROR rises, goes to the coat hooks and takes a package of cough drops from his jacket pocket.
12TH JUROR: I’m sorry. I have this habit of doodling. It keeps me thinking clearly.
FOREMAN: We’re trying to get someplace here. Y’know we can sit here forever . . .
12TH JUROR: Well, look, maybe this is an idea. I’m just thinking out loud, but it seems to me it’s up to us to convince this gentleman—[he indicates the 8TH JUROR] that we’re right and he’s wrong. Maybe if we each took a minute or two. I mean, it’s just a quick thought . . .
FOREMAN: No, I think it’s a good one. Supposing we go once around the table inorder of jury numbers.
7TH JUROR: Anything. Let’s start it off.
FOREMAN: OK. [To the 2ND JUROR.] That means you’re first.
2ND JUROR: Oh. Well . . . [He pauses nervously.] Well, it’s hard to put into words. I just—think he’s guilty. I thought it was obvious from the word go. I mean nobody proved otherwise.
8TH JUROR: Nobody has to prove otherwise. The burden of proof is on the prosecution. The defendant doesn’t have to open his mouth. That’s in the Constitution. You’ve heard of it.
2ND JUROR [flustered]: Well, sure I’ve heard of it. I know what it is. I—what I meant—well, the man is guilty. I mean, somebody saw him do it. [He looks around helplessly.]
3RD JUROR: OK.
[He refers to his notes.] Now, here’s what I think, and I have no personal feelings about this.
I’m talking facts.
Number one.
Let’s take the old man who lived on the second floor right underneath the room where the murder took place.
At ten minutes after twelve on the night of the killing he heard loud noises in the apartment upstairs.
He said it sounded like a fight.
Then he heard the kid shout out,
“I’m gonna kill you.”
A second later he heard a body fall and he ran to the door of his apartment, looked out and saw the kid running down the stairs and out of the house.
Then he called the police.
They found the father with a knife in his chest.
FOREMAN: And the coroner fixed the time of the death at around midnight.
3RD JUROR: Right. I mean, there are facts for you. You can’t refute facts. This boy is guilty. Look, I’m as sentimental as the next guy. I know the kid is only sixteen, but he’s still got to pay for what he did.
7TH JUROR: I’m with you, pops.
4TH JUROR [removing his eyeglasses]: It was obvious to me, anyway, that the boy’s entire story was flimsy. He claimed he was at the movies during the time of the killing and yet one hour later he couldn’t remember what films he saw or who played in them.
3RD JUROR: That’s right. Did you hear that? [To the 4TH JUROR.] You’re absolutely right.
4TH JUROR: No one saw him going into or out of the theater.
10TH JUROR: Listen, what about that woman across the street? If her testimony don’t prove it, nothing does.
11TH JUROR: That’s right. She was the one who actually saw the killing.
FOREMAN [half rising]: Let’s go in order here.
10TH JUROR [rising, handkerchief in hand]: Just a minute. Here’s a woman . . . [He blows his nose.] Here’s a woman who’s lying in bed and can’t sleep. She’s dying with the heat. Know what I mean? Anyway, she looks out the window and right across the street she sees the kid stick the knife into his father. The time is twelve ten on the nose. Everything fits. Look, she’s known the kid all his life. His window is right opposite hers, across the el tracks, and she swore she saw him do it.
8TH JUROR: Through the windows of a passing elevated train.
10TH JUROR: Right. This el train had no passengers on it. It was just being moved downtown. The lights were out, remember? And they proved in court that at night you can look through the windows of an el train when the lights are out and see what’s happening on the other side. They proved it.
8TH JUROR [to the 10TH JUROR]: I’d like to ask you something.
10TH JUROR: Sure.
8TH JUROR: You don’t believe the boy. How come you believe the woman? She’s one of “them,” too, isn’t she?
10TH JUROR [suddenly angry]: You’re a pretty smart fellow, aren’t you?
The 10TH JUROR crosses toward the 8TH JUROR. Several JURORS rise as if to intercept the 10TH JUROR.
FOREMAN: Hey, let’s take it easy.
10TH JUROR [angrily]: What’s he so wise about? I’m telling you . . .
3RD JUROR: Come on. Sit down. What are you letting him get you all upset for?
The 10TH JUROR sits.
FOREMAN: Let’s calm down now. Let’s try to keep it peaceful in here. Whose turn is it? [To the 5TH JUROR.] OK. How about you?
5TH JUROR [looking nervously around]: I’ll pass it.
FOREMAN: That’s your privilege. How about the next gentleman?
6TH JUROR: I don’t know. I started to be convinced, uh—you know, very early in the case. Well, I was looking for the motive. That’s very important. If there’s no motive, where’s the case? So anyway, that testimony from those people across the hall from the kid’s apartment, that was very powerful. Didn’t they say something about an argument between the father and the boy around seven o’clock that night? I mean, I can be wrong.
11TH JUROR: It was eight o’clock. Not seven.
8TH JUROR: That’s right. Eight o’clock. They heard an argument, but they couldn’t hear what it was about. Then they heard the father hit the boy twice, and finally they saw the boy walk angrily out of the house. What does that prove?
6TH JUROR: Well, it doesn’t exactly prove anything. It’s just part of the picture. I didn’t say it proved anything.
8TH JUROR: You said it revealed a motive for the killing. The prosecuting attorney said the same thing. Well, I don’t think it’s a very strong motive. This boy has been hit so many times in his life that violence is practically a normal state of affairs for him. I can’t see two slaps in the face provoking him into committing murder.
4TH JUROR [quietly]: It may have been two slaps too many. Everyone has a breaking point.
FOREMAN [to the 6TH JUROR.]: Anything else?
6TH JUROR: No.
FOREMAN: OK. [To the 7TH JUROR.] How about the next gentleman?
7TH JUROR: Me? [He pauses, looks around, shrugs.] I don’t know, it’s practically all said already. We can talk about it forever. I mean, this kid is oh for five. Look at his record. He was in Children’s Court when he was ten for throwing a rock at his teacher. At fourteen he was in Reform School. He stole a car. He’s been arrested for mugging. He was picked up twice for trying to slash another teenager with a knife. He’s real quick with switch knives, they said. This is a very fine boy.
8TH JUROR: Ever since he was five years old his father beat him up regularly. He used his fists.
7TH JUROR: So would I. A kid like that.
4TH JUROR: Wouldn’t you call those beatings a motive for him to kill his father?
8TH JUROR [after a pause]: I don’t know. It’s a motive for him to be an angry kid. I’ll say that.
3RD JUROR: It’s the kids, the way they are nowadays. Angry! Hostile! You can’t do a damn thing with them. Just the way they talk to you. Listen, when I was his age I used to call my father “Sir.” That’s right, “Sir!” You ever hear a boy call his father that anymore?
8TH JUROR: Fathers don’t seem to think it’s important anymore.
3RD JUROR: No? Have you got any kids?
8TH JUROR: Two.
3RD JUROR: Yeah, well I’ve got one. He’s twenty. We did everything for that boy, and what happened? When he was nine he ran away from a fight. I saw him. I was so ashamed I almost threw up. So I told him right out. “I’m gonna make a man outa you or I’m gonna bust you in half trying.” Well, I made a man outa him all right. When he was sixteen we had a battle. He hit me in the face. He’s big, y’know. I haven’t seen him in two years. Rotten kid. You work your heart out . . . [He breaks off. He has said more than he intended. He is embarrassed.] All right. Let’s get on with it.
4TH JUROR [rising]: I think we’re missing the point here. This boy, let’s say he’s a product of a filthy neighborhood and a broken home. We can’t help that. We’re here to decide whether he’s guilty or innocent of murder, not to go into reasons why he grew up this way. He was born in a slum. Slums are breeding grounds for criminals. I know it. So do you. It’s no secret. Children from slum backgrounds are potential menaces to society. Now I think—
10TH JUROR [interrupting]: Brother, you can say that again. The kids who crawl outa those places are real trash. I don’t want any part of them, I’m telling you.
5TH JUROR [rising]: I’ve lived in a slum all my life. I nurse that trash in Harlem Hospital six nights a week.
10TH JUROR: Oh, now wait a second. . .
5TH JUROR: I used to play in a backyard that was filled with garbage. Maybe it still smells on me.
10TH JUROR [his anger rising]: Now listen, buddy.
FOREMAN [to the 5TH JUROR]: Now, let’s be reasonable. There’s nothing personal . . .
5TH JUROR [loudly]: There is something personal!
The 3RD JUROR moves to the 5TH JUROR and pats him on the shoulder. The 5TH JUROR does not look up.
3RD JUROR: Come on, now. He didn’t mean you, feller. Let’s not be so sensitive.
1TH JUROR: This sensitivity I understand.
FOREMAN: All right, let’s stop all this arguing. We’re wasting time here. [He points to the 8TH JUROR.] It’s your turn. Let’s go.
8TH JUROR: Well, I didn’t expect a turn. I thought you were all supposed to be convincing me. Wasn’t that the idea?
FOREMAN: Check. I forgot that.
10TH JUROR: Well, what’s the difference? He’s the one who’s keeping us here. Let’s hear what he’s got to say.
FOREMAN: Now just a second. We decided to do it a certain way. Let’s stick to what we said.
10TH JUROR [disgusted]: Ah, stop bein’ a kid, will you?
FOREMAN: A kid! Listen, what d’you mean by that?
10TH JUROR: What d’ya think I mean? K-I-D, kid!
FOREMAN: What, just because I’m trying to keep this thing organized? Listen. [He rises.] You want to do it? Here. You sit here. You take the responsibility. I’ll just shut up, that’s all.
10TH JUROR: Listen, what are you gettin’ so hot about? Calm down, will ya?
FOREMAN: Don’t tell me to calm down. Here! Here’s the chair. You keep it goin’ smooth and everything. What d’ya think, it’s a snap? Come on. Mr. Foreman. Let’s see how great you’d run the show.
10TH JUROR [to the 11TH JUROR]: Did y’ever see such a thing?
FOREMAN: You think it’s funny or something?
12TH JUROR: Take it easy. The whole thing’s unimportant.
FOREMAN: Unimportant? You want to try it?
12TH JUROR: No. Listen, you’re doing a beautiful job. Nobody wants to change.
7TH JUROR: Yeah, you’re doing great. Hang in there and pitch.
10TH JUROR: All right. Let’s hear from somebody.
There is a pause.
8TH JUROR: Well, if you want me to tell you how I feel about it right now, it’s all right with me.
FOREMAN [softly]: I don’t care what you do.
8TH JUROR [after a pause]: All right. I haven’t got anything brilliant. I only know as much as you do. According to the testimony the boy looks guilty. Maybe he is. I sat there in court for three days listening while the evidence built up. Everybody sounded so positive that I started to get a peculiar feeling about this trial. I mean, nothing is that positive. I had questions I would have liked to ask. Maybe they wouldn’t have meant anything. I don’t know. But I started to feel that the defense counsel wasn’tdoing his job. He let too many things go. Little things.
10TH JUROR: What little things? Listen, when these guys don’t ask questions, that’sbecause they know the answers already and they figure they’ll be hurt.
8TH JUROR: Maybe. It’s also possible for a lawyer to be just plain stupid, isn’t it?
6TH JUROR: You sound like you’ve met my brother-in-law.
A few of the JURORS laugh.
8TH JUROR [smiling]: I kept putting myself in the boy’s place. I would have asked for another lawyer, I think. I mean, if I was on trial for my life I’d want my lawyer to tear the prosecution witnesses to shreds, or at least to try. Look, there was one alleged eyewitness to this killing. Someone else claims he heard the killing and then saw the boy running out afterward. There was a lot of circumstantial evidence, but actually those two witnesses were the entire case for the prosecution. Supposing they were wrong?
12TH JUROR: What do you mean, “Supposing they were wrong?” What’s the point of having witnesses at all?
8TH JUROR: Could they be wrong?
12TH JUROR: They sat on the stand under oath. What are you trying to say?
8TH JUROR: They’re only people. People make mistakes. Could they be wrong?
12TH JUROR: I . . . No! I don’t think so.
8TH JUROR: Do you know so?
12TH JUROR: Well, now, listen.
Nobody can know a thing like that.
This isn’t an exact
science.
8TH JUROR: That’s right. It isn’t.
3RD JUROR [rising angrily]: All right. [To the 8TH JUROR.] Let’s try to get to the point here. What about the switch knife they found in the father’s chest?
2ND JUROR: Well, wait a minute. I think we oughta . . . There are some people who haven’t talked yet. Shouldn’t we . . . ?
3RD JUROR: Look, they can talk whenever they like. Now just be quiet a second, will you? [He turns to the 8TH JUROR.] OK, what about the knife? You know, the one that fine, upright boy admitted buying on the night of the murder. Let’s talk about that.
8TH JUROR: All right, let’s talk about it. Let’s get it in here and look at it. I’d like to see it again. [He turns to the FOREMAN.] Mr. Foreman?
The FOREMAN rises and crosses to the door.
3RD JUROR: We all know what it looks like.
The FOREMAN knocks on the door.
The GUARD unlocks the door and enters
The FOREMAN whispers to him.
The GUARD nods and exits, locking the door.
What are we gonna get out of seeing it again?
5TH JUROR: You brought it up.
4TH JUROR: The gentleman has a right to see exhibits in evidence. [To the 8TH JUROR.] The knife, and the way it was bought, is pretty strong evidence. Don’t you think so?
8TH JUROR: I do.
4TH JUROR: Good. Now suppose we take these facts one at a time. One. The boy admitted going out of his house at eight o’clock on the night of the murder after being punched several times by his father.
8TH JUROR: He didn’t say “punched.” He said “hit.” There’s a difference between a slap and a punch.
4TH JUROR: After being hit several times by his father. Two. The boy went directly to a neighborhood junk shop where he bought a . . . What do you call these things—
4TH JUROR: Three. This wasn’t what you’d call an ordinary knife. It had a very unusual carved handle. Four. The storekeeper who sold it to him identified the knife in court and said it was the only one of its kind he had ever had in stock. Five. At, oh, about eight forty-five the boy ran into three friends of his in front of a diner. Am I correct so far?
8TH JUROR: Yes, you are.
3RD JUROR [to the 8TH JUROR]: You bet he is. [To the others.] Now, listen to this man. He knows what he’s talking about.
4TH JUROR: The boy talked with his friends for about an hour, leaving them at nine forty-five.
During this time they saw the switch knife.
Six.
Each of them identified the death weapon in court as that same knife.
Seven.
The boy arrived home at about ten o’clock.
Now this is where the stories offered by the boy and the State begin to diverge slightly.
He claims that he stayed home until eleven thirty and then went to
one of those all-night movies.
He returned home at about three fifteen in the morning to find his father dead and himself arrested.
Now, what happened to the switch knife?
This is the charming and imaginative little fable the boy invented.
He claims that the knife fell through a hole in his pocket sometime between eleven thirty and three fifteen while he was on his trip to the movies and that he never saw it again.
Now this is a tale, gentlemen.
I think it’s quite clear that the boy never went to the movies that night.
No one in the house saw him go out at eleven thirty.
No one at the theater identified him.
He couldn’t even remember the names of the pictures he saw.
What actually happened is this: the boy stayed home, had another fight with this father, stabbed him to death with the knife at ten minutes after twelve and fled from the house.
He even remembered to wipe the knife clean of fingerprints.
The GUARD unlocks the door and enters carrying a curiously designed knife with a tag hanging from it.
The 4TH JUROR goes to the GUARD, and takes the knife from him.
The GUARD exits and locks the door.
Everyone connected with the case identified the knife. Now are you trying to tell me that it really fell through a hole in the boy’s pocket and that someone picked it up off the street, went to the boy’s house and stabbed his father with it just to be amusing?
8TH JUROR: No. I’m saying it’s possible that the boy lost the knife and that someone else stabbed his father with a similar knife. It’s possible.
The 4TH JUROR flicks open the knife and jams it into the table.
4TH JUROR: Take a look at that knife. I’ve never seen one like it. Neither had the storekeeper who sold it to the boy. Aren’t you asking us to accept a pretty incredible coincidence?
8TH JUROR: I’m not asking anyone to accept it. I’m just saying that it’s possible.
3RD JUROR [shouting]: And I’m saying it’s not possible.
The 8TH JUROR stands for a moment in silence, then he reaches into his pocket and swiftly withdraws a knife. He holds it in front of his face and flicks open the blade, then he leans forward and sticks the knife into the table alongside the other. They are exactly alike. There is a burst of sound in the room. The 8TH JUROR stands back from the table, watching.
6TH JUROR: Look at it! It’s the same knife.
7TH JUROR: What is this?
12TH JUROR: Where’d that come from?
2ND JUROR: How d’you like that?
3RD JUROR [looking at the 8TH JUROR; amazed]: What are you trying to do?
10TH JUROR: Yeah. What’s going on here? Who do you think you are?
4TH JUROR: Quiet! Let’s be quiet. [To the 8TH JUROR.] Where d’you get that knife?
8TH JUROR: I was walking for a couple of hours last night, just thinking. I walked through the boy’s neighborhood. The knife comes from a little pawn shop three blocks from his house. It cost six dollars.
4TH JUROR: It’s against the law to buy or sell switchblade knives.
8TH JUROR: That’s right. I broke the law.
3RD JUROR: Listen. You pulled a real bright trick here. Now, supposing you tell me what you proved. Maybe there are ten knives like that. So what?
8TH JUROR: Maybe there are.
3RD JUROR: So what does that mean? It’s the same kind of knife. So what’s that?The discovery of the age or something?
11TH JUROR: It would still be an incredible coincidence for another person to have stabbed the father with the same kind of knife.
3RD JUROR: That’s right! He’s right.
7TH JUROR: The odds are a million to one.
8TH JUROR: It’s possible.
4TH JUROR: But not very probable.
FOREMAN: Listen, let’s take seats. There’s no point in milling round here.
They begin to move back to their seats. The 8TH JUROR stands watching.
2ND JUROR: It’s interesting that he’d find a knife exactly like the one the boy bought.
3RD JUROR: What’s interesting? You think it proves anything?
2ND JUROR: Well, no. I was just—
3RD JUROR: Interesting! [He points at the 8TH JUROR.] Listen, how come the kid bought the knife to begin with?
8TH JUROR: Well, he claims that—
3RD JUROR: I know. He claims he bought it as a present for a friend of his. He was gonna give it to him the next day because he busted the other kid’s knife dropping it on the pavement.
8TH JUROR: That’s what he said.
7TH JUROR: Baloney!
9TH JUROR: The friend testified that the boy did break his knife.
3RD JUROR: Yeah. And how long before the killing? Three weeks. Right? So how come our noble lad bought this knife one half-hour after his father smacked him and three and a half hours before they found it shoved up here in the father’s chest?
7TH JUROR: Well, he was gonna give the knife to his friend.
He just wanted to use it for a minute.
There is scattered laughter.
8TH JUROR [to the 3RD JUROR]: Let me ask you this. It’s one of the questions I wanted to ask in court. If the boy bought the knife to use on his father, how come he showed what was going to be the murder weapon to three friends of his just a couple of hours before the killing?
3RD JUROR: Listen, all of this is just talk. The boy lied and you know it.
8TH JUROR: He may have lied. [To the 10TH JUROR.] Do you think he lied?
10TH JUROR: Now that’s a stupid question. Sure he lied.
8TH JUROR [to the 4TH JUROR]: Do you?
4TH JUROR: You know my answer. He lied.
8TH JUROR [to the 5TH JUROR]: Do you think he lied?
5TH JUROR: I’m not sure. . . [He breaks off and looks nervously around.]
3RD JUROR [leaping into the breach]: You’re not sure about what? Now wait a second. [To the 8TH JUROR.] What are you, the kid’s lawyer or something? Who do you think you are to start cross-examining us?
8TH JUROR: Isn’t that what’s supposed to happen in a jury room?
3RD JUROR: Listen, there are still eleven of us in here who think he’s guilty.
7TH JUROR: Yeah. What do you think you’re gonna accomplish? You’re not gonna change anybody’s mind. So if you want to be stubborn and hang this jury, go ahead. The kid’ll be tried again and found guilty sure as he’s born.
8TH JUROR: You’re probably right.
7TH JUROR: So what are you gonna do about it? We can be here all night.
9TH JUROR: It’s only one night. A boy may die.
7TH JUROR: Brother! Anybody got a deck of cards?
2ND JUROR [to the FOREMAN]: I don’t think he ought to make a joke about it.
FOREMAN: What do you want me to do?
10TH JUROR: Listen, I don’t see what all this stuff about the knife has to do with anything. Somebody saw the kid stab his father. What more do we need? I got three garages of mine going to pot while you’re talking. Let’s get done and get outa here.
11TH JUROR: The knife was very important to the district attorney. He spent one whole morning . . .
10TH JUROR: He’s a fifteenth assistant, or something. What does he know?
FOREMAN: OK. I think we oughta get on with it now. These side arguments only slow us up. [To the 8TH JUROR.] What about it?
6TH JUROR [to the 8TH JUROR]: You’re the only one.
8TH JUROR: I have a proposition to make to all of you. I want to call for a vote. I’d like you eleven men to vote by secret written ballot. I’ll abstain. If there are still eleven votes for guilty, I won’t stand alone. We’ll take a guilty verdict in to the judge right now. But if anyone votes not guilty, we’ll stay and talk this thing out. [He pauses.] Well, that’s all. If you want to try it, I’m ready.
3RD JUROR: Well, finally you’re behaving like a reasonable man.
12TH JUROR: Check. I’ll buy that.
7TH JUROR: OK. Let’s do it.
FOREMAN: That sounds fair.
Some of the JURORS nod. The 8TH JUROR moves to the window.
Anyone doesn’t agree? OK. Pass these along. [He passes out slips of paper.]
The 8TH JUROR stands watching the others. The JURORS pass the slips along. Finally each of them begins to write. Now some of them begin to fold their slips and pass them back to the FOREMAN. The FOREMAN stacks all the slips on the table in front of him. He picks up the first slip of paper, opens it and reads.
“Guilty.”
He opens and reads the other slips in turn.
“Guilty.” “Guilty.” “Guilty.” “Guilty.” “Guilty.” “Guilty.” “Guilty.” “Guilty.” “Not Guilty.”
There is a babble of voices. The 8TH JUROR relaxes, moves to his chair and sits.
[Reading the last slip.] “Guilty.”
10TH JUROR: Boy! How do you like that?
7TH JUROR: And another chap flips his goddamn wig!
10TH JUROR: All right, who was it? Come on. I want to know.
11TH JUROR: Excuse me. This was a secret ballot. We agreed on this.
3RD JUROR: Secret? What d’ya mean, secret? There are no secrets in a jury room. I know who it was. [He crosses to the 5TH JUROR.] Brother, you’re really something! You come in here and you vote guilty like everybody else, and then this golden-voicedpreacher over here starts to tear your heart out with stories about a poor little kid who just couldn’t help becoming a murderer. So you change your vote. If that isn’t the most sickening . . . Why don’tcha drop a quarter in his collection box?
5TH JUROR: Now wait a minute.
The 3RD JUROR turns away.
You can’t talk to me like that!
The 3RD JUROR turns to face him. The 4TH JUROR slips in between them and takes the 5TH JUROR by the arm.
No. [He shakes off the 4TH JUROR.] Where does he get the right to shout at me?
4TH JUROR: All right, let’s calm down.
5TH JUROR: Who does he think he is? Imean, did you see him?
4TH JUROR: Just sit down. He’s very excitable. Forget it. It doesn’t matter.
3RD JUROR: You bet I’m excitable. We’re trying to put a guilty man into the chair where he belongs and all of a sudden somebody’s telling us fairy tales—and we’re listening.
2ND JUROR [mildly]: Take it easy.
3RD JUROR: What do you mean—take it easy! D’you feel like seeing a proven murderer walking the streets? Why don’t we give him his knife back? Make it easier for him.
FOREMAN: OK, let’s stop the yelling. Who’s got something constructive to say?
11TH JUROR: Please. I would like to say something here. I have always thought that in this country a man was entitled to have unpopular opinions . . .
7TH JUROR: Let’s stick to the subject. [To the 5TH JUROR.] What made you change your vote?
9TH JUROR: He didn’t change his vote. I did. Would you like me to tell you why?
7TH JUROR: No, I wouldn’t like you to tell me why.
9TH JUROR: Well, I’d like to make it clear, anyway, if you don’t mind.
10TH JUROR: Do we have to listen to this?
6TH JUROR: Hey, look! The man wants to talk.
9TH JUROR: Thank you. [To the 7TH JUROR.] This gentleman—[he indicates the 8TH JUROR] has been standing alone against us. He doesn’t say the boy is not guilty. He just isn’t sure. Well, it’s not easy to stand alone against the ridicule of others. He gambled for support and I gave it to him. I respect his motives. The boy on trial is probably guilty. But I want to hear more.
The 7TH JUROR crosses to the washroom.
For the time being the vote is ten to two.
The 7TH JUROR enters the washroom, slams the door after him.
I’m talking here.
You have no right to . . .
8TH JUROR [to the 9TH JUROR]: He can’t hear you. He never will.
3RD JUROR: Well, if the speech is over, maybe we can go on.
FOREMAN: I think we ought to take a break. One man’s inside there. Let’s wait for him.
The FOREMAN moves above the table to where the two knives are stuck into it. He plucks the tagged knife out and closes it.
12TH JUROR [to the 11TH JUROR]: Looks like we’re really hung up here. I mean, that thing with the old man was pretty unexpected. I wish I knew how we could break this up. [He smiles suddenly.] Y’know, in advertising . . . I told you I worked at an ad agency, didn’t I?
The FOREMAN crosses to the door and knocks.
The GUARD unlocks the door and enters.
The FOREMAN hands him the knife.
The GUARD exits, locking the door.
Well, there are some pretty strange people—not strange, really—they just havepeculiar ways of expressing themselves, y’know what I mean?
The 11TH JUROR nods.
Well, it’s probably the same in your business—right? What do you do?
11TH JUROR: I’m a watchmaker.
12TH JUROR: Really? The finest watchmakers come from Europe, I imagine.
The 11TH JUROR bows slightly.
The 6TH JUROR rises, and goes into the lavatory.
Anyway, I was telling you—in the agency, when they reach a point like this in a meeting, there’s always some character ready with an idea. And it kills me, I mean it’s the weirdest thing sometimes the way they precede the idea with some kind of phrase. Like—oh, some account exec’ll say, “Here’s an idea. Let’s run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes it,” or “Put it on a bus and see if it gets off at Wall Street.” I mean, it’s idiotic, but it’s funny.
The 8TH JUROR goes into the washroom and hangs his jacket on a hook. The 3RD JUROR crosses to the 5TH JUROR.
3RD JUROR [to the 5TH JUROR]: Look, I was a little excited. Well, you know how it is—I didn’t mean to get nasty or anything.
The 5TH JUROR crosses away from the 3RD JUROR without answering. The 7TH JUROR steps away from the washbasin and dries his hands. The 8TH JUROR crosses to the washbasin.
7TH JUROR [to the 8TH JUROR]: Say, are you a salesman?
8TH JUROR: I’m an architect.
7TH JUROR: You know what the soft sell is? You’re pretty good at it. I’ll tell ya. I got a different technique. Jokes. Drinks. Knock ’em on their asses. I made twenty-seven thousand last year selling marmalade. That’s not bad. Considering marmalade. [He watches the 8TH JUROR for a moment.] What are ya getting out of it—kicks? The boy is guilty, pal. So let’s go home before we get sore throats.
8TH JUROR: What’s the difference whether you get one here or at the ball game?
7TH JUROR: No difference pal. No difference at all.
The 7TH JUROR goes back into the jury room.
The 6TH JUROR enters from the lavatory, goes to the washbasin and washes his
hands.
6TH JUROR [to the 8TH JUROR]: Nice bunch of guys.
8TH JUROR: I guess they’re the same as any.
6TH JUROR: That loud, heavyset guy, the one who was tellin’ us about his kid—the way he was talking—boy, that was an embarrassing thing.
8TH JUROR: Yeah.
6TH JUROR: What a murderous day. You think we’ll be here much longer?
8TH JUROR: I don’t know.
6TH JUROR: He’s guilty for sure. There’s not a doubt in the whole world. We shoulda been done already. Listen, I don’t care, y’know. It beats workin’.
The 8TH JUROR smiles.
You think he’s innocent?
8TH JUROR: I don’t know. It’s possible.
6TH JUROR: I don’t know you, but I’m bettin’ you’ve never been wronger in your life. Y’oughta wrap it up. You’re wastin’ your time.
8TH JUROR: Suppose you were the one on trial?
6TH JUROR: I’m not used to supposing. I’m just a working man. My boss does the supposing. But I’ll try one. Suppose you talk us all outa this and the kid really did knifehis father?
The 6TH JUROR looks at the 8TH JUROR for a moment, then goes into the jury room. The 8TH JUROR stands alone for a few moments and we know that this is the problem that has been tormenting him. He does not know, and never will. He switches out the washroom light and goes into the jury room.
FOREMAN: OK, let’s take seats.
2ND JUROR: Looks like we’ll be here for dinner.
FOREMAN: OK. Let’s get down to business. Who wants to start it off?
There is a pause, then the 4TH and 6TH JURORS start to speak at the same time.
6TH JUROR: I didn’t mean to interrupt.
4TH JUROR: No. Go ahead. It’s all right.
6TH JUROR: Well. I was going to say, well, this is probably a small point, but anyway. . . [To the 8TH JUROR.] The boy had a motive for the killing. You know, the beatings and all. So if he didn’t do it, who did? Who else had the motive? That’s my point. I mean, nobody goes out and kills someone without a motive, not unless he’s just plain nuts. Right?
8TH JUROR: As far as I know, we’re supposed to decide whether or not the boy on trial is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We’re not concerned with anyone else’s motives here. That’s a job for the police.
4TH JUROR: Very true. But we can’t help letting the only motive we know of creep into our thoughts, can we? And we can’t help asking ourselves who else might have had a motive. Logically, these things follow. [He nods toward the 6TH JUROR.] This gentleman is asking a reasonable question. Somebody killed him. If it wasn’t the boy, who was it?
3RD JUROR: Modjelewski.
7TH JUROR: You’re talking about the man I love!
4TH JUROR: If you haven’t got anything to add besides jokes, I suggest you listen.
3RD JUROR: OK. It’s just letting off steam. I’m sorry. Go ahead.
4TH JUROR [to the 8TH JUROR]: Well, maybe you can answer me.
Who else might
have killed the father?
8TH JUROR: Well, I don’t know. The father wasn’t exactly a model citizen. The boy’s lawyer outlined his background in his closing statement. He was in prison once. He was known to be a compulsive gambler and a pretty consistent loser. He spent a lot of time in neighborhood bars and he’d get into fistfights sometimes after a couple of drinks. Usually over a woman. He was a tough, cruel, primitive kind of man who never held a job for more than six months in his life. So here are a few possibilities. He could have been murdered by one of many men he served time with in prison. By abook maker. By a man he’d beaten up. By a woman he’d picked up. By any one of the people he was known to hang out with.
10TH JUROR: Boy-oh-boy, that’s the biggest load of crap I ever . . . Listen, we know the father was a bum. So what has that got to do with anything?
8TH JUROR: I didn’t bring it up. I was asked who else might have killed him. I gave my answer.
9TH JUROR [pointing at the 4TH JUROR]: That gentleman over there asked a direct question.
10TH JUROR: Everyone’s a lawyer!
3RD JUROR: Look, suppose you answer this for me. The old man who lived downstairs heard the kid yell out, “I’m going to kill you.” A split second later he heard a body hit the floor. Then he saw the kid run out of the house. Now what does all that mean to you?
8TH JUROR: I was wondering how clearly the old man could have heard the boy’s voice through the ceiling.
3RD JUROR: He didn’t hear it through the ceiling. His window was open and so was the window upstairs. It was a hot night, remember?
8TH JUROR: The voice came from another apartment. It’s not easy to identify a voice, especially a shouting voice.
FOREMAN: He identified it in court. He picked the boy’s voice out of five other voices, blindfolded.
8TH JUROR: That was just an ambitious district attorney putting on a show. Look, the old man knows the boy’s voice very well. They’ve lived in the same house for years. But to identify it positively from the apartment downstairs . . . Isn’t it possible he was wrong—that maybe he thought the boy was upstairs and automatically decided that the voice he heard was the boy’s voice?
4TH JUROR: I think that’s a bit far-fetched.
10TH JUROR: Brother, you can say that again. [To the 8TH JUROR.] Look. The old man heard the father’s body falling and then he saw the boy run out of the housefifteen seconds later. He saw the boy.
12TH JUROR: Check. And don’t forget the woman across the street. She looked right into the open window and saw the boy stab his father. I mean, isn’t that enough for you?
8TH JUROR: Not right now. No, it isn’t.
7TH JUROR: How do you like him? It’s like talking into a dead phone.
4TH JUROR: The woman saw the killing through the windows of a moving elevatedt rain. The train had six cars and she saw it through the windows of the last two cars. She remembered the most insignificant details. I don’t see how you can argue with that.
3RD JUROR [to the 8TH JUROR]: Well, what have you got to say about it?
8TH JUROR: I don’t know. It doesn’t sound right to me.
3RD JUROR: Well, suppose you think about it.
[To the 12TH JUROR.]
Lend me your
pencil.
The 12TH JUROR hands the pencil to the 3RD JUROR, who starts to draw what is
obviously a tic-tac-toe pattern on the pad.
8TH JUROR: I wonder if anybody has any idea how long it takes an elevated train . . .
The 8TH JUROR sees the 3RD JUROR and the 12TH JUROR playing tic-tac-toe,
snatches up the pad, tears off the top sheet, crumples it and drops it in the wastebasket.
3RD JUROR: Wait a minute!
8TH JUROR: This isn’t a game.
3RD JUROR [shouting]: Who do you think you are?
12TH JUROR [to the 3RD JUROR]: All right, take it easy.
FOREMAN: Come on now, sit down.
3RD JUROR: I’ve got a good mind to belt him one.
FOREMAN: Now, please! I don’t want any fights in here.
3RD JUROR: Did you see him? The nerve! The absolute nerve!
10TH JUROR: All right. Forget it. It’s not important. Know what I mean?
3RD JUROR: “This isn’t a game.” Who does he think he’s dealing with here?
FOREMAN: Come on, now. It’s all over. Let’s take our seats.
3RD JUROR: What’s all over? I want an apology.
6TH JUROR: OK, noisy. He apologizes. Now let’s hear what the man has to say.
8TH JUROR: Thank you. I wonder if anybody has an idea how long it takes an elevated train going at medium speed to pass a given point?
7TH JUROR: What has that got to do with anything?
8TH JUROR: How long? Take a guess.
4TH JUROR: I wouldn’t have the slightest idea.
8TH JUROR: [to the 5TH JUROR]: What do you think?
5TH JUROR: I don’t know. About ten or twelve seconds, maybe.
3RD JUROR: What’s all this for?
8TH JUROR: I’d say that was a fair guess. Anyone else?
11TH JUROR: That sounds right to me.
10TH JUROR: Come on, what’s the guessing game for?
8TH JUROR [to the 2ND JUROR]: What would you say?
2ND JUROR: Ten seconds. Approximately.
4TH JUROR: All right. Say ten seconds. What are you getting at?
8TH JUROR: This. It takes a six-car el train ten seconds to pass a given point. Nowsay that given point is the open window of the room in which the killing took place. You can almost reach out the window of that room and touch the el tracks. Right?
5TH JUROR: Right.
8TH JUROR: All right. Now let me ask you this—has anyone here ever lived right next to the el tracks?
6TH JUROR: Well, I just finished painting an apartment that overlooked an el line. I’ma house painter, y’know. Iwas there for three days.
8TH JUROR: What was it like?
6TH JUROR: What d’ya mean?
8TH JUROR: Noisy?
6TH JUROR: Brother!
Well, it didn’t matter.
We’re all punchy in our business, anyway.
[He laughs.]
8TH JUROR: I lived in a second-floor apartment next to an el line once. When the window’s open and the train goes by, the noise is almost unbearable. You can’t hear yourself think.
3RD JUROR: OK. You can’t hear yourself think. Will you get to the point?
8TH JUROR: I will. Let’s take two pieces of testimony and try to put them together. First, the old man in the apartment downstairs. He says he heard the boy say, “I’m going to kill you” and a split second later he heard the body hit the floor. One second later. Right?
2ND JUROR: That’s right.
8TH JUROR: Second, the woman in the apartment across the street. She claimed that she looked out of her window and saw the killing through the last two cars of a passing elevated train. Right? The last two cars.
3RD JUROR: All right. What point are you making here?
8TH JUROR: Now, we agreed that an el train takes about ten seconds to pass a given point. Since the woman saw the stabbing through the last two cars, we can assume that the body fell to the floor just as the train passed by. Therefore, the el train had been roaring by the old man’s window for a full ten seconds before the body fell. The old man, according to his own testimony, hearing “I’m going to kill you” and the body falling a split second later, would have had to hear the boy make this statement while the el was roaring past his nose. It’s not possible that he could have heard it.
3RD JUROR: That’s idiotic! Sure he could have heard it.
8TH JUROR: [to the 3RD JUROR]: Do you think so?
3RD JUROR: The old man said the boy yelled it out. That’s enough for me.
8TH JUROR: If he heard anything at all, he still couldn’t have identified the voice withthe el roaring by.
3RD JUROR: You’re talking about a matter of seconds here. Nobody can be that accurate.
8TH JUROR: Well, I think that testimony that could put a human being into the electricchair should be that accurate.
5TH JUROR: I don’t think he could have heard it.
6TH JUROR: Yeah. Maybe he didn’t hear it. Imean, with the el noise . . .
3RD JUROR: What are you people talking about?
5TH JUROR: Well, it stands to reason. . .
3RD JUROR: You’re crazy! Why should he lie? What’s he got to gain?
9TH JUROR: Attention, maybe.
3RD JUROR: You keep coming up with these bright sayings. Why don’t you send onein to a newspaper? They pay three dollars.
6TH JUROR [to the 3RD JUROR]: Hey! What’re ya talking to him like that for?
The 3RD JUROR looks at the 6TH JUROR, then turns disgustedly away. The 6TH JUROR reaches out and turns the 3RD JUROR firmly around by the arm.
A guy who talks like that to an old man oughta really get stepped on y’know.
3RD JUROR: Get your hands off me!
6TH JUROR: You oughta have some respect, mister.
If you say stuff like that to him
again—I’m gonna lay you out.
The 6TH JUROR releases the 3RD JUROR and speaks to the 9TH JUROR.
Go ahead. You can say anything you want. Why do you think the old man might lie?
9TH JUROR: It’s just that I looked at him for a very long time.
The seam of his jacket was split under his arm.
Did you notice it?
I mean, to come into court like that.
He was a very old man with a torn jacket and he walked very slowly to the stand.
He was dragging his left leg and trying to hide it because he was ashamed.
I think I know him better than anyone here.
This is a quiet, frightened, insignificant old man who has been nothing all his life, who has never had recognition, his name in the newspapers.
Nobody knows him, nobody quotes him, nobody seeks his advice after seventy-fiveyears.
That’s a very sad thing, to be nothing.
A man like this needs to be recognized, to be listened to, to be quoted just once.
This is very important.
It would be so hard for him to recede into the background .
.
.
7TH JUROR: Now, wait a minute. Are you trying to tell us he’d lie just so that he could be important once?
9TH JUROR: No. He wouldn’t really lie. But perhaps he’d make himself believe that he’d heard those words and recognized the boy’s face.
10TH JUROR: Well, that’s the most fantastic story I’ve ever heard. How can you make up a thing like that? What do you know about it?
The 9TH JUROR lowers his head, embarrassed.
4TH JUROR: Gentlemen, this case is based on a reasonable and logical progression of facts. Let’s keep it there.
11TH JUROR: Facts may be colored by the personalities of the people who present them.
2ND JUROR: Anybody want a cough drop?
10TH JUROR: I’ll take one.
The 2ND JUROR offers the cough drops to the 10TH JUROR. The 10TH JUROR takes one.
Thanks.
12TH JUROR: Say what you like, I still don’t see how anybody can think the boy’s not
guilty.
8TH JUROR: There’s another thing I wanted to talk about for a minute. I think we’ve proved that the old man couldn’t have heard the boy say, “I’m going to kill you,” but supposing—
10TH JUROR: You didn’t prove it at all. What are you talking about?
8TH JUROR: But supposing he really did hear it. This phrase, how many times has each of us used it? Probably hundreds. “I could kill you for that, darling.” “If you do that once more, Junior, I’m going to kill you.” “Come on, Rocky, kill him.” We say it every day. It doesn’t mean we’re going to kill someone.
3RD JUROR: Wait a minute! What are you trying to give us here? The phrase was, “I’m going to kill you,” and the kid screamed it out at the top of his lungs. Don’t tell me he didn’t mean it. Anybody says a thing like that the way he said it, they mean it.
2ND JUROR: Well, gee, I don’t know. I remember I was arguing with the guy I work next to at the bank a couple of weeks ago; so he called me an idiot; so I yelled at him. . .
3RD JUROR: No listen, this guy is making you believe things that aren’t so. The kidsaid he was going to kill him and he did kill him.
8TH JUROR: Well, let me ask you this: do you really think the boy would shout out a thing like that so the whole neighborhood would hear it? I don’t think so. He’s much too bright for that.
10TH JUROR: Bright? He’s a common, ignorant slob. He don’t even speak good English.
11TH JUROR: He doesn’t even speak good English.
5TH JUROR: I’d like to change my vote to “not guilty.”
7TH JUROR: Now you’ve got to be kidding.
5TH JUROR: You heard.
FOREMAN: Are you sure?
5TH JUROR: Yes, I’m sure.
FOREMAN: The vote is nine to three in favor of “guilty.”
7TH JUROR: Well, if that isn’t the livin’ end! What are you basing it on? Stories this guy made up. He oughta write for Amazing Detective Monthly. He’d make a fortune. [To the 5TH JUROR.] Listen, there are facts staring you right in your face. Every one of them says this kid killed his old man. For cryin’ out loud, his own lawyer knew he didn’t stand a chance right from the beginning. His own lawyer. You could see it. He deserves the chair.
8TH JUROR: Does he? It’s happened before that someone’s been convicted of murder and executed, and years later someone else has confessed to the crime. Sometimes . . . sometimes the facts that are staring you in the face are wrong!
7TH JUROR [to the 8TH JUROR]: I’m talkin’ to him—[he indicates the 5TH JUROR] not to you. [To the others.] Boy, this guy is really something. [To the 8TH JUROR.] Listen, the kid had a lawyer, didn’t he? The lawyer presented his case, not you. How come you’ve got so much to say?
8TH JUROR: The lawyer was court-appointed.
7TH JUROR: So what does that mean?
8TH JUROR: Well, it could mean a lot of things. It could mean he didn’t want the case. It could mean he resented being appointed. It’s the kind of case that brings him nothing. No money. No glory. Not even much chance of winning. It’s not a very promising situation for a young lawyer. He’d really have to believe in his client to make a good fight. As you pointed out a minute ago, he obviously didn’t.
7TH JUROR: Sure he didn’t. Who in hell could, except God come to earth or somebody? [He looks at his watch then up at the clock.] Come on already! Look at the time!
11TH JUROR: Pardon me, but I have made some notes here.
10TH JUROR: Notes yet!
11TH JUROR: I would like please to say something. I have been listening very closely, and it seems to me that this man—[he indicates the 8TH JUROR] has somev ery good points to make. From what was presented at the trial the boy looks guilty, but maybe if we go deeper—
10TH JUROR: Come on, will ya?
11TH JUROR: There is a question I would like to ask. We assume that the boy committed murder. He stabbed his father in the chest and ran away. This was at ten minutes after twelve. Now, how was he caught by the police? He came home at three o’clock or so and was captured by two detectives in the hallway of his house. My question is, if he really had killed his father, why would he come back three hours later? Wouldn’t he be afraid of being caught?
3RD JUROR: Look—he came home to get his knife. It’s not nice to leave knives sticking around in people’s chests.
7TH JUROR: Yeah, especially relatives’.
4TH JUROR [to the 11TH JUROR]: The boy knew that there were people who could identify the knife as the one he had just bought. He had to get it before the police did.
11TH JUROR: But if he knew the knife could be identified, why did he leave it there in the first place?
4TH JUROR: Well, I think we can assume he ran out in a state of panic after he killed his father, and then when he finally calmed down, he realized that he had left the knife there.
11TH JUROR: This then depends on your definition of panic. He was calm enough to see to it that there were no fingerprints on the knife. Now where did his panic start and where did it end?
3RD JUROR: Look, you can forget all that other stuff. He still came home to dig out his knife and get rid of it.
11TH JUROR: Three hours later?
3RD JUROR: Sure, three hours later.
11TH JUROR: If I were the boy and I had killed my father, I would not have come home three hours later. I would be afraid that the police would be there. I would stayaway, knife or no knife.
3RD JUROR: Listen, you voted “guilty,” didn’t you? What side are you on?
11TH JUROR: I don’t believe I have to be loyal to one side or the other.
I am simply
asking questions.
12TH JUROR: Well, this is just off the top of my head, but if I were the boy, and I’d, you know, done the stabbing and everything, I’d take a chance and go back for the knife. I’ll bet he figured no one had seen him and that the body probably wasn’t even discovered yet. After all, it was the middle of the night. He probably thought no one would find the body till the next day.
11TH JUROR: Pardon. Here is my whole point. The woman across the street testified that a moment after she saw the killing, that is, a moment after the el trainwent by, she screamed and then went to telephone the police. Now, the boy must certainly have heard that scream and known that somebody saw something. I don’t think he would have gone back if he had been the murderer.
4TH JUROR: Two points. One: in his state of panic he may not have heard the scream. Perhaps it wasn’t very loud. Two: if he did hear it, he may not have connected it with his own act. Remember, he lived in a neighborhood where screams were fairly commonplace.
3RD JUROR: Right! There’s your answer.
8TH JUROR: Maybe. Maybe he did stab his father, didn’t hear the woman’s screams, did run out in a panic, did calm down three hours later and came back to tryand get the knife, risking being caught by the police. Maybe all those things are so. But maybe they’re not. I think there’s enough doubt to make us wonder whether hewas there at all during the time the murder took place.
10TH JUROR: What d’ya mean doubt? What are you talking about? Didn’t the oldman see him running out of the house? He’s twisting the facts. I’m telling you! [To the11TH JUROR.] Did or didn’t the old man see the kid running out of the house at twelve ten? Well, did he or didn’t he?
11TH JUROR: He says he did.
10TH JUROR: Says he did! [To the others.] Boy-oh-boy! How do you like that? [To the 11TH JUROR.] Well, did or didn’t the woman across the street see the kid kill his father? She says she did. You’re makin’ out like it don’t matter what people say. What you want to believe, you believe, and what you don’t want to believe, you don’t. What kind of way is that? What d’ya think these people get up on the witness stand for—their health? I’m telling you men the facts are being changed around here. Witnesses are being doubted and there’s no reason for it.
5TH JUROR: Witnesses can make mistakes.
10TH JUROR: Sure, when you want ’em to, they do! Know what I mean?
FOREMAN: OK. Let’s hold the yelling down.
10TH JUROR: You keep saying that. Maybe what we need is a little yelling in here. These guys are going off every which way. Did hear the scream, didn’t hear the scream. What’s the difference? They’re just little details. You’re forgetting the important stuff. Imean, all of a sudden here everybody . . .
8TH JUROR: I’d like to call for another vote.
10TH JUROR: Listen, I’m talking here.
FOREMAN: There’s another vote called for. How about taking seats?
Jurors who are standing move toward their seats.
3RD JUROR: What are we gonna gain by voting again?
FOREMAN: I don’t know. The gentleman asked . . .
3RD JUROR: I never saw so much time spent on nothing.
2ND JUROR: [mildly]: It only takes a second.
FOREMAN: OK. I guess the fastest way is to find out who’s voting not guilty. All those in favor of “not guilty” raise their hands.
The 5TH, 8TH, and 9TH JURORS raise their hands.
Still the same. One, two, three “not guiltys.” Nine “guiltys.”
7TH JUROR: So now where are we? I’m telling you, we can yakety-yak until next Tuesday here. Where’s it getting us?
11TH JUROR: Pardon. [He slowly raises his hand.] I vote “not guilty.”
7TH JUROR: Oh, brother!
3RD JUROR: Oh, now listen! What are you talking about? I mean, we’re all going crazy in here or something! This kid is guilty. Why don’tcha pay attention to the facts. [To the 4TH JUROR.] Listen, tell him, will ya? This is getting to be a goddamn joke!
FOREMAN: The vote is eight to four, in favor of “guilty.”
3RD JUROR: I mean, everybody’s heart is starting to bleed for this punk little kid likethe President just declared it “Love Your Underprivileged Brother Week” or something. [To the 11TH JUROR.] Listen, I’d like you to tell me why you changed your vote. Come on, give me reasons.
11TH JUROR: I don’t have to defend my decision to you. I have a reasonable doubt in my mind.
3RD JUROR: What reasonable doubt? That’s nothing but words. [He pulls out the switch knife from the table and holds it up.] Here, look at this. The kid you just decided isn’t guilty was seen ramming this thing into his father. Well, look at it, Mr. Reasonable Doubt.
9TH JUROR: That’s not the knife. Don’t you remember?
3RD JUROR: Brilliant! [He sticks the knife into the table.]
7TH JUROR: I’m tellin’ ya, this is the craziest. [To the 8TH JUROR.] I mean, you’re sittin’ in here pulling stories outa thin air. What’re we supposed to believe? [To the others.] I’m telling you, if this guy was sitting ringside at the Dempsey-Firpo fight, he’d be tryin’ to tell us Firpo won. [To the 8TH JUROR.] Look, what about the old man? Are we supposed to believe that he didn’t get up and run to his door and see the kid tearing down the stairs fifteen seconds after the killing? He’s only saying he did to be important. I mean, what’s the point of the whole—?
5TH JUROR: Hold it a second.
7TH JUROR: And the Milwaukee rooter is heard from.
5TH JUROR: Did the old man say he ran to the door?
7TH JUROR: Ran. Walked. What’s the difference? He got there.
6TH JUROR: He said he ran to the door. At least, I think he did.
5TH JUROR: I don’t remember what he said. But I don’t see how he could run.
4TH JUROR: He said he went from his bedroom to the front door. That’s enough, isn’t it?
8TH JUROR: Wait a minute. Where was his bedroom, again?
10TH JUROR: Down the hall somewhere. I thought you remembered everything. Don’t you remember that?
8TH JUROR: No. Mr. Foreman, I’d like to take a look at the diagram of the apartment.
7TH JUROR: Why don’t we have them run the trial over just so you can get everythingstraight?
8TH JUROR: Mr. Foreman . . .
FOREMAN: I heard you
The FOREMAN goes to the door and knocks.
The GUARD unlocks the door and enters.
The FOREMAN confers briefly with him.
The GUARD exits and locks the door after him.
3RD JUROR:All right, what’s this for? How come you’re the only one in the room who wants to see exhibits all the time?
5TH JUROR: I want to see this one too.
3RD JUROR: And I want to stop wasting time.
4TH JUROR: If we’re going to start wading through all that business about where the body was found.
8TH JUROR: We’re not. Not unless someone else wants to. I’d like to see if a very old man who drags one leg when he walks because he had a stroke last year can get from his bed to his front door in fifteen seconds.
3RD JUROR: He said twenty seconds.
8TH JUROR: He said fifteen.
3RD JUROR: Now I’m telling you he said twenty. What’re you trying to distort . . .
11TH JUROR: He said fifteen.
3RD JUROR: How does he know how long fifteen seconds is?
You can’t judge that
kind of thing.
9TH JUROR: He said fifteen seconds. He was very positive about it.
3RD JUROR: He’s an old man. You saw him. Half the time he was confused. Howcould he be positive about anything?
The GUARD unlocks the door and enters, carrying a large diagram of the apartment.
The diagram is a layout of a railroad flat.
A bedroom faces the el tracks.
Behind it
is a series of rooms off a long hall.
In the front room is an X marking the spot where the body was found.
At the back of the apartment we see the entrance into the apartment hall from the building hall.
We see a flight of stairs in the building’s hall.
Each room is labelled and the dimensions of each room are shown.
The FOREMAN takes the diagram.
The GUARD exits and locks the door.
12TH JUROR: I don’t see what we’re going to prove here. The man said he saw the boy running out.
8TH JUROR: Well, let’s see if the details bear him out.As soon as the body fell to the floor, he said, he heard footsteps upstairs running toward the front door. He heard the upstairs door open and the footsteps start down the stairs. He got to his front door as soon as he could. He swore that it couldn’t have been more than fifteen seconds. Now, if the killer began running immediately—
12TH JUROR: Well, maybe he didn’t
8TH JUROR: The old man said he did.
7TH JUROR: You know, you ought to be down in Atlantic City at that hairsplitters’
convention.
6TH JUROR: Listen, baseball, why don’t you stop making smart remarks all the time?7TH JUROR: My friend, for your three dollars a day you’ve gotta listen to everything.
10TH JUROR: [to the 8TH JUROR]: Well, now that you’ve got that thing in here, what
about it?
8TH JUROR [to the FOREMAN]: May I?
[He takes the plan and puts it on a chair.] This is the apartment in which the killing took place.
The old man’s apartment is directly beneath it and exactly the same.
Here are the el tracks.
The bedroom.
Another bedroom.
Bathroom.
Living room.
Kitchen.
And this is the hall.
Here’s the front door to the apartment.
And here are the stairs.
Now, the old man was in bed in
this room.
[He indicates the front bedroom.] He says he got up, went out into the hall, down the hall to the front door, opened it and looked out just in time to see the boy racing down the stairs.
Am I right so far?
3RD JUROR: That’s the story, for the nineteenth time.
8TH JUROR: Fifteen seconds after he heard the body fall.
11TH JUROR: Correct.
8TH JUROR: His bed was at the window. It’s [He looks closely at the plan.] twelve feet from his bed to the bedroom door. The length of the hall is forty-three feet, six inches. Now he had to get up out of bed, walk twelve feet, open the bedroom door, walk forty-three feet and open the front door—all in fifteen seconds. Do you think he could have done it?
10TH JUROR: Sure he coulda done it.
11TH JUROR: He can only walk very slowly. They had to help him into the witness chair.
3RD JUROR: You make it sound like a long walk. It’s not.
9TH JUROR: For an old man who had a stroke it’s a long walk.
The 8TH JUROR moves his chair and sets the chair to indicate a bed.
8TH JUROR: This is the old man’s bed.
10TH JUROR: What’s going on here?
8TH JUROR: I want to try this thing. Let’s see how long it took him.
3RD JUROR: What d’you mean you want to try it? Why didn’t the kid’s lawyer bring it up, if it’s so important?
5TH JUROR: Well, maybe he just didn’t think of it.
10TH JUROR: What d’ya mean, he didn’t think of it? You think the man’s an idiot or something. It’s an obvious thing.
5TH JUROR: Did you think of it?
10TH JUROR: Listen, smart guy. It don’t matter whether I thought of it.
FOREMAN: OK, now . . . let’s hold it down.
10TH JUROR: He didn’t bring it up because he knew the answer’d hurt his case. Now what d’ya think of that?
FOREMAN: OK.
8TH JUROR: All right, here’s the bed. I’m going to pace off twelve feet, the length of the bedroom. [He paces twelve feet.]
3RD JUROR: You’re crazy. You can’t recreate a thing like that.
11TH JUROR: I’d like to see it.
The 12TH JUROR picks up his chair and takes it to the 8TH JUROR. The 8TH JUROR puts the chair where he is standing.
8TH JUROR: All right, this is the bedroom door. The hall is a little over forty-three feet long. I’ll pace over to that wall and back again.
The 8TH JUROR paces, counting his steps silently.
10TH JUROR: Look, this is absolutely insane. What’s the idea of wasting everybody’s time here?
8TH JUROR: . . . twelve . . . [He stops and turns to the 10TH JUROR.] According to you it’ll only take fifteen seconds. We can spare that. [He resumes his pacing, counting to himself, and reaches the wall.]
The others watch silently.
[He turns and paces, counting off the rest of the distance.] . . . thirty-nine, forty, fortyone, forty-two, forty-three. OK, pass me another chair, please.
The 6TH JUROR picks up a chair and takes it to the 8TH JUROR. The 8TH JUROR places it where he is standing.
This is the door to the outside hall and stairway. It was chain-locked according to the testimony. Who’s got a watch with a second hand?
2ND JUROR: I have.
8TH JUROR: When you want me to start, stamp your foot. That’ll be the body falling. Time me from there.
The 8TH JUROR lies down on the two chairs.
7TH JUROR: Anyone for charades?
3RD JUROR: I’ve never seen anything like this in my whole life!
8TH JUROR: OK. I’m ready.
The 2ND JUROR stares at his watch, waiting.
10TH JUROR: Come on, let’s go here.
2ND JUROR: I want to wait until the second hand reaches sixty.
They wait. The 2ND JUROR suddenly stamps his foot. The 8TH JUROR rises to a sitting position, swings his legs to the floor and stands up. The 2ND JUROR keeps his eyes on his watch. The 8TH JUROR hobbles, dragging one leg, toward the chair that serves as the bedroom door. He reaches it and pretends to open the door. He then hobbles along the simulated forty-three-foot hallway.
10TH JUROR: Come on. Snap it up. He walked twice as fast as that.
11TH JUROR: This is, I think, even more quickly than the old man walked in the
courtroom.
8TH JUROR [still hobbling]: If you think I should go faster, I will.
The 8TH JUROR speeds up his pace slightly, reaches the wall, turns and heads for the second chair, the one simulating the door to the outer hallway.
3RD JUROR: Come on, will ya! Let’s get this kid stuff over with.
They watch as the 8TH JUROR reaches the last chair. He pretends to open an imaginary chain lock and then opens the imaginary door.
8TH JUROR: Stop!
2ND JUROR: Right.
8TH JUROR: What’s the time?
2ND JUROR: Fifteen—twenty—thirty—thirty-five—forty—forty-two seconds exactly.
6TH JUROR: Forty-two seconds!
8TH JUROR: I think this is what happened. The old man heard the fight between the boy and his father a few hours earlier. Then, while lying in bed, he heard a body hit the floor in the boy’s apartment, and he heard the woman scream from across the street. He got up, tried to get to the door, heard someone racing down the stairs, and assumed it was the boy.
6TH JUROR: I think that’s possible.
3RD JUROR: Assumed? Now listen to me, you people. I’ve seen all kinds of dishonesty in my day—but this little display takes the cake. You come in here with your sanctimonious talk about slum kids and injustice, and you make up some wild stories, and all of a sudden you start getting through to some of these old ladies inhere. Well, you’re not getting through to me. I’ve had enough. What’s the matter with you people? Every one of you knows this kid is guilty. He’s got to burn. We’re letting him slip through our fingers here.
8TH JUROR: Slip through our fingers? Are you his executioner?
3RD JUROR: I’m one of ’em.
8TH JUROR: Maybe you’d like to pull the switch.
3RD JUROR: For this kid? You bet I’d like to pull the switch.
8TH JUROR: I’m sorry for you.
3RD JUROR: Don’t start with me now.
8TH JUROR: Ever since we walked into this room you’ve been behaving like a self-appointed public avenger.
3RD JUROR: I’m telling you now! Shut up!
8TH JUROR: You want to see this boy die because you personally want it, not because of the facts.
3RD JUROR: Shut up!
8TH JUROR: You’re a sadist!
3RD JUROR: Shut up, you son of a bitch!
The 3RD JUROR lunges wildly at the 8TH JUROR. The 8TH JUROR holds his ground. The 5TH and 6TH JURORS grab the 3RD JUROR from behind. He strains against the hands, his face dark with rage.
Let go of me, God damn it! I’ll kill him! I’ll kill him!
8TH JUROR [calmly]: You don’t really mean you’ll kill me, do you?
The 3RD JUROR breaks from the 5TH and 6TH JURORS, stops struggling and stares bitterly at the 8TH JUROR as
—the CURTAIN falls.
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