Twelve Angry Men

by Reginald Rose

  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 kid said 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 some very 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 stay away, 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 train went 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 try and 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 he was 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 old man see him running out of the house? He’s twisting the facts. I’m telling you! [To the 11TH 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. I mean, 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 like the 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 everything straight?

  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. How could 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 re-create 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, forty-one, 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.