8TH JUROR: Isn’t that what’s supposed to happen in a jury room?
3RD JUROR: Listen, there are stil 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’l 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 al 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 al 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 al of you. I want to cal for a vote. I’d like you eleven men to vote by secret written bal ot. I’l abstain. If there are stil eleven votes for guilty, I won’t stand alone. We’l take a guilty verdict in to the judge right now.
But if anyone votes not guilty, we’l stay and talk this thing out. [ He pauses. ] Wel , that’s al . If you want to try it, I’m ready.
3RD JUROR: Wel, finaly you’re behaving like a reasonable man.
12TH JUROR: Check. I’l 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: Al right, who was it? Come on. I want to know.
11TH JUROR: Excuse me. This was a secret balot. 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 real y something!
You come in here and you vote guilty like everybody else, and then this golden-voiced preacher 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 col ection 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: Al right, let’s calm down.
5TH JUROR: Who does he think he is? I mean, 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 al of a sudden somebody’s tel ing 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 yeling. 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 tel you why?
7TH JUROR: No, I wouldn’t like you to tel me why.
9TH JUROR: Wel, 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. Wel , 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 wil.
3RD JUROR: Wel, 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 realy 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.
Wel, there are some pretty strange people—not strange, realy—they just have peculiar ways of expressing themselves, y’know what I mean?
The 11TH JUROR nods.
Wel, it’s probably the same in your business—right? What do you do?
11TH JUROR: I’m a watchmaker.
12TH JUROR: Realy? 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 teling 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 kil s 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’l 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 Wal 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. Wel, 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 ha
nds. 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 sel is? You’re pretty good at it. I’l tel ya. I got a different technique. Jokes. Drinks. Knock ’em on their asses. I made twenty-seven thousand last year sel ing 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 bal game?
7TH JUROR: No difference pal. No difference at al.
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 telin’ 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’l 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’l try one. Suppose you talk us al outa this and the kid real y did knife his 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’l 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 al right.
6TH JUROR: Wel. I was going to say, wel, this is probably a smal point, but anyway
. . . [ To the 8TH JUROR.] The boy had a motive for the kil ing. You know, the beatings and al . So if he didn’t do it, who did? Who else had the motive? That’s my point. I mean, nobody goes out and kil s 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. Logical y, these things fol ow. [ He nods toward the 6TH JUROR.] This gentleman is asking a reasonable question. Somebody kil ed 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]: Wel, maybe you can answer me. Who else might have kil ed the father?
8TH JUROR: Wel, 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. Usual y 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 a bookmaker. 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 kiled 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 yel out, “I’m going to kil 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 al 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, especial y 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 wel . 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 automatical y 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 fal ing and then he saw the boy run out of the house fifteen 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 kiling through the windows of a moving elevated train. 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]: Wel, what have you got to say about it?
8TH JUROR: I don’t know. It doesn’t sound right to me.
3RD JUROR: Wel, 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]: Al 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: Al right. Forget it. It’s not i
mportant. 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 al over. Let’s take our seats.
3RD JUROR: What’s al 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 al 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: Al 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. Now say that given point is the open window of the room in which the kil ing took place.
You can almost reach out the window of that room and touch the el tracks. Right?
5TH JUROR: Right.
8TH JUROR: Al right. Now let me ask you this—has anyone here ever lived right next to the el tracks?
6TH JUROR: Wel, I just finished painting an apartment that overlooked an el line. I’m a house painter, y’know. I was there for three days.
8TH JUROR: What was it like?
6TH JUROR: What d’ya mean?
8TH JUROR: Noisy?
6TH JUROR: Brother! Wel, it didn’t matter. We’re al 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. Wil you get to the point?
8TH JUROR: I wil. 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 kil you” and a split second later he heard the body hit the floor. One second later. Right?
Twelve Angry Men Page 4