American courtroom drama “Twelve Angry Men” is a perfect instance to reveal how the decision-making process can be influenced. It describes the examination of homicide by twelve jurors, one of which contradicts others’ attitudes towards the case (13Youtoo, 2012). It is possible to reflect on how participants change their minds during the process. The seventh juror agrees to vote for not guilty because overwise the conversation would last too long for him. The third juror finally realizes that he only projecting his feelings about his son on the defendant while the tenth one just sticks to the other’s positions at the end. The fourth juror is logical and he is influenced by facts that prove the innocence of the defendant, and so does the sixth one, persuaded by the new case details. The twelfth juror is not interested in the case and changes his opinion many times, tending, therefore, to the prevalent decision, as the second one does, because of the lack of confidence. The ninth juror is calm and thoughtful which makes him change his mind easily, while the eleventh one begins to doubt because he believes in justice. Finally, the first juror, who is the foreman, tries to be fair while listening to others and voting, and he is also the one who does not believe in the boy’s guilt initially.
I should admit that if I were a juror, I would, like all others but one, immediately consider the boy to be guilty, because of the persuasive evidence provided. Despite other jurors, who have personal motivation to complete the case as soon as possible, I would be deceived by how the story was presented. Some men want to go home early, while others are focused on facts provided, which are against the defendant, that prevent jurors from deepening further into the murder. Some jurors have related experiences or characteristics that make them vote for one or another decision (13Youtoo, 2012). Although I do not have any preconceptions, connections, or features, which other jurors have, I still would change my opinion after all the participants’ contributed to the case’s details like the fourth one.
Reference
13Youtoo. (2012). 12 Angry men [Video]. YouTube.