Twelve Angry Men – Text Response

“Somebody saw the kid stab his father. What more do we need?” Twelve Angry Men explores the value of facts and the fallibility of human memory.” Discuss.

Set in the summer of 1957, Reginald Rose’s play, “Twelve Angry Men,” centers around twelve men summoned with the task of deciding a young man’s fate. During the course of the play, Rose expounds the notion that human memory is errable and the malleable nature of facts. He emphasis, through the jurors, the need to question what constitutes as a ‘fact’ when examining the evidence presented and that it is only human to “make mistakes.”

In a case where most of the evidence is comprised of witness’ testimonies, a key factor in the jury’s decision will be the perceived reliability of the witness. 8th juror repeatedly questions the reliability of the case witnesses. With no signs of malevolence or judgment, he urged others to consider the premise that “witnesses can make mistakes,” and to remember that in this case, such mistakes could cost the accused, his life. Rose utilized the 8th juror to point out that witnesses are “the entire case for the prosecution,” so every perspective must be considered before the jury unanimously decides to “send a boy off t die.” The fact that absolute accuracy of human memory is difficult, if not, impossible to establish, forms the basis for 8th juror’s argument for reasonable doubt.

The 9th juror suggests its is possible that in order to “be recognized, to be listened to, to be quoted just once,” the first witness subconsciously convinced himself he really had heard the voice of the defendant shouting before the murder. As such, Rose accentuates that witnesses may not be providing intentional inaccuracy but discusses the likelihood of witnesses being fallible- capable of making mistakes. The jurors who object to the possibility of witness errors