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Prejudice in criminal justice system usa
Criminal justice prejudice and racial discrimination
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“No matter where you run into it, prejudice obscures the trues” (page 66). Prejudice can be a dangerous thing, especially when it comes to adjusting somebody’s life. At that time in America a jury consists of twelve men can determine the life or death of one person by giving a unanimous verdict. A typical reflection of this reality is an influential drama “Twelve Anger Men”. Reginald Rose wrote this drama inspired by his experience of being a juror on a manslaughter case to reveal a common social phenomenon of prejudice. To stress the main idea that, Rose presents the key points that biased individuals are less rational or blinding themselves with an unfair judgement about one’s guilt. Moreover, she conveys the facts that stereotype produces an effect on one’s statement. Furthermore, prejudice constantly affect other jurors’ opinion, intentionally or unintentionally. With Rose’s vivid description and clear contrast between each juror, he emphasizes the existence of prejudice and further to spread an idea that prejudice influence the outcome of the trial. Personal bias constantly influences one’s rational judgement. People use their personal experience to convince themselves that what type of person one should be, which is not a fair judgement about individual guilty. …show more content…
He stereotypes the boy: “That goddamn rotten kid. I know him. What they’re like” (page 71). He already convicts the defendant in the very early until end and his prejudice attitude makes him a hyperbolic stubborn man. He wishes to punish that defendant for the depression his own son inflected on him. He personally longs for that punishment, not because of fact. Another point that should be noticed is that 3rd juror’s bias on children makes him fail in analyzing every piece of evidence and view them from only negative side, which leads to his failure of deliberating
Gaines’ novel is centered on a massive injustice, which is a young man who is falsely convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death by electrocution. When Jefferson was brought into a trial for the murders of the three white men in the bar, most of the jury quickly assumed that he was guilty due to his skin color, because, at that time, the assumption of innocence does not
In the play Twelve Angry Men, a tough decision rests in the hands of twelve jurors as they discuss whether or not a minor is guilty of murdering his father. What is originally seen as a very black and white case becomes more complicated when the jurors begin to question if the evidence is enough to convict and execute a teenage boy. In particular, the author, Reginald Rose, includes a juror who unequivocally believes that the defendant is guilty. We soon find out that Juror 3 harbors a grudge against his own son, who ran away years ago. Juror 3's convictions are not fueled by the case's evidence, but instead by his want for revenge.
This essay will compare and contrast the protagonist/antagonist's relationship with each other and the other jurors in the play and in the movie versions of Reginald Rose's 12 Angry Men. There aren't any changes made to the key part of the story, but yet the minor changes made in making the movie adaptation produce a different picture than what one imagines when reading the drama in the form of a play. First off, the settings in the movie are a great deal more fleshed out. In the play, the scene begins with the jurors regarding the judge's final statements concerning the case in the courtroom and then walking out into the jury room. In the movie, the audience is placed in the role of the invisible casual observer, who for perhaps the first 5 minutes of the movie, walks throughout the court building passing other court rooms, lawyers, defendants, security officers, elevators, etc.
The movie ‘12 angry me’ is not only humorous but it is also informative. It is a candid portrayal of various socio-psychological perspectives, used in during the study of human social behavior. Filmed as a story of a 12-members jury, under the directions of a judge, to determine an anonymous verdict in a murder case, the film delivers very convincing illustrations of cognitive dissonance, groupthink, and schemas.
In the play “Twelve Angry men”, the story line presents a variety of perspectives and opinions between twelve very different men. Some are more likely to be pointed out as prejudice, and others are more focused on reaching fair justice. Clearly, it is quite difficult for different people to vote ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ in unity when coming to a fair decision. In all of the twelve jurors, I have chosen Juror 3 and Juror 8 for contrast and comparison. I believe that Juror number 3 is a very opinionated man, with more differences than similarities comparing with Juror number 8.
Guilty or not guilty? This the key question during the murder trial of a young man accused of fatally stabbing his father. The play 12 Angry Men, by Reginald Rose, introduces to the audience twelve members of a jury made up of contrasting men from various backgrounds. One of the most critical elements of the play is how the personalities and experiences of these men influence their initial majority vote of guilty. Three of the most influential members include juror #3, juror #10, and juror #11. Their past experiences and personal bias determine their thoughts and opinions on the case. Therefore, how a person feels inside is reflected in his/her thoughts, opinions, and behavior.
People base their opinions and actions off of rumors and tales that they have heard, they do not realize that their actions can affect the life of another person tremendously. In 12 Angry Men, many jurors do not realize the reality of the fact that their opinion to convict the boy of the murder would result in the boy losing his life. Just as the Nazis did not directly realize that their belief in Germany’s propaganda would result in the death of six million innocent people. Juror 10, blinded by stereotypes says, “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 my whole life. You can’t believe a word they
In ‘Twelve Angry Men’, the Jurors who voted guilty at the beginning of the play, made a quick assumption about the case without putting much thought into it and holding onto past experiences. Juror 3 and 10 hold onto these judgments the longest, and allow their prejudices to keep them from agreeing with Juror 8. This prejudice creates tension in the room, as the other jurors slowly begin to confront their own assumptions and accept the way that their ‘prejudice can obscure the
Everyone has biases even in a place where there should never be bias like for say a courtroom with a human beings life on the line. In the play “12 Angry Men” by Reginald Rose, 12 jurors argue about whether this kid killed his father or not, all of them say the boy is guilty except for one juror. This was a very interesting play the arguing, the suspense, the facts about the crime slowly unfolding and puzzle pieces coming together but what prompted the 11 of 12 men to insist without a doubt in their mind that the boy was guilty maybe it was the little facts and evidence given in the trial or maybe it was their own experiences and biases the lead them to that decision.
Reginald Rose wrote and co-produce the classic film 12 Angry Men back in 1957. It tells the story of 12 men have the life or death decision with a young man’s life and it makes every jurors question their morals and values to see if beyond a reasonable doubt the boy murdered his father. It is so popular and was such a hit it has even made references on famous TV shows like Family Guy in the 2000s and even had several remakes thought out the years, but like all movie remakes none compare to the original. In this classic MGM film 12 Angry Men, the jurors revealed their prejudices though their attitudes, stories, and beliefs.
Originally published in 1955, Reginald Rose’s play, “Twelve Angry Men”, focuses on a jury’s decision of a juvenile Puerto Rican who has been put on trial for the murder of his father. The twelve jurors dance with the decision of charging the boy innocent or guilty through biased arguments and occasional fronts of corrupted reasoning. Aggressively, they deliberate the fate of the boy and jostle for a unanimous vote. As the jurors argue and negotiate, the personality and behavior of each reflects in the assumptions and conclusions they compile to be their final decision. Based on the play, people’s behavior and how they perceive facts is greatly based on the type of assumptions they make and their bias towards people in society.
In the book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a lawyer named Atticus Finch attempts to convince a jury that a Negro should be found innocent in a case of lies and prejudice. The Negro, Tom Robinson, was sent to court because a man, Robert Ewell, accused Tom of raping his daughter, when in fact, he beat his own daughter for trying to kiss Tom. Atticus strives to change the stereotypical minds of the jury by looking past race. Atticus uses ethos, connotation, and a simile to challenge the jury’s pre-existing minds about race.
The impairment to equality that prejudice presents society with is absolute. The play by Reginald Rose Twelve Angry Men and Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird whilst both face the danger of prejudice, the outcomes ultimately contrast each other. To Kill a Mockingbird depicts the unjust killing of an African-American man, on the other hand, Twelve Angry Men highlights a discussion between a jury where justice prevails in the end. In both texts, the jury exemplify biased opinions which sporadically end in violence. However, the most dangerous part of prejudice is the blatant ignorance that society hinder to diminish, leaving an unjust mark on those targeted.
The story as a whole was inspired by Reginald Rose’s experience of jury duty in New York City. At first he was reluctant to serve on the jury, but he ended up telling in a press meet “ The Moment I Walked into the courtroom and found myself facing a strange man, whose fate is suddenly more or less in my hands, my entire attitude changed.” The words from Rose showed the pressure he faced inside the courtroom and his personal conscience he had not to make a mistake with the decision. The overview of the story is an engrossing drama in which eleven jurors believe the accused is guilty,
The clashing of the different personalities of jurors proved to be a major source of the conflict in the play. Even though the jurors in the play 12 angry men with their different personalities and viewpoints had many quarrels throughout the trial, they ended coming together and agreeing to acquit the boy of his crimes. This shows that even though our individual personalities and those of others around us are different, we can still come together and actively open ourselves to the different perspectives and ideas to achieve something important.