Comparing The Rodney King Trial And The Play Twelve Angry Men

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It was April 29th, 1992, and “Dawn was just filtering over Los Angeles and Courtroom 890 was silent as a tomb”(Mathews 1). The Rodney King trial had taken a little over two months and the verdict had the potential to change the history of the United States indefinitely. In both the Rodney King Beating Trial and the play Twelve Angry Men, racism played a major part in the original verdict. Rodney King was definitely in the wrong on the night of the beating, but the beating he got was not necessary. The trial was moved to a community with little diversity, therefore, the police officers were acquitted. The outcome of this trial would have turned out differently if the jury had been more diverse
The Rodney King Trial created extreme controversy …show more content…

Aloud” (Coco Chanel). Juror Five may not have been as righteous Juror Eight or even as important to the storyline at all; however, he didn't let a single person in that room think for him. Unlike many of the other jurors, Juror Five had much experience with the slums and slum kids. He grew up in the slums and, at the time of the trial, he still lived there. Where exactly is this going? Juror Five came from the bottom and knows what it’s like. No matter how hard he tried he will always know the feeling of being on the bottom. and at some point he will always be reminded “I used to play in a backyard full of garbage, maybe it still smells on me”(7). Juror Five knows who he is and what he stands for. Now, how he would vote on the Rodney King case I can honestly say that, I don't really know. But if I were to take a guess, I would say that he would vote guilty against the men that decided to beat a convict half to death and then have a laugh about it later. Was Rodney King guilty of breaking parole, the speed limit, and resisting arrest? Yes. But did he deserve what they did to him? No one deserves …show more content…

Works Cited
Bailey, Frankie Y. "Chapter 8- The Rodney King Beating Trial: A Landmark for Reform." Crimes and Trials of the
Century. from Pine Ridge to Abu Ghraib. By Steven M. Chermak. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2007.
139-60. Print.

"Coco Chanel Quote." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.
Linder, Doug. "An Account of the Los Angeles Police Officers' Trials(The Rodney King Beating Case)." An Account of the Los Angeles Police Officers' Trials(The Rodney King Beating Case). N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Mathews, TomMcGuire, Stryker. "Looking Past The Verdict. (Cover Story)." Newsweek 121.17 (1993): 20. MAS
Ultra - School Edition. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

Rissman, Rebecca. Rodney King and the L.A. Riots. Minneapolis: ABDO, 2014. Print.

"Rodney King Beating." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2014.. Web. 22 Apr.

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