Dignity And Irony In 12 Angry Men By Reginald Rose

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Evidence is the most important part of a criminal trial, whether that is physical evidence, circumstantial evidence, or witness testimonies. The evidence in a trial can make or break the outcome of the case. Not only is the amount of evidence important, but also its validity and strength. If evidence is not strong or reliable enough, the outcome of the trial can be affected by that. Sometimes, in cases, there is too much doubt or uncertainty for a guilty verdict. This doubt can be caused by discrepancies in evidence. The play 12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose is an excellent example of how discrepancies in evidence can affect a trial’s verdict. In the play, both discrepancies in witness testimonies and physical evidence cause reasonable doubt. …show more content…

How is the woman able to specifically witness the defendant murder his father without her glasses on when she is blind as a bat without them? There is no way for her to have had time to put on her glasses and then look through the window. The woman would not be able to clearly make out anything across the el tracks without her glasses. This discovery makes her testimony doubtful. Witness testimonies are very important evidence in proving guilt in a murder case. The discrepancies in these witness testimonies put doubt on the defendant’s guilt. Not only is there doubt caused by discrepancies in witness accounts, there is also reasonable doubt caused by irregularities in the physical evidence of the case. Some of the physical evidence is the murder weapon, a switch knife, and the stab wound. At first, both pieces of evidence reflect a guilty verdict, but after some examination, discrepancies emerge. Towards the beginning of the book, the jurors discuss how strong a piece of evidence the knife is because of its uniqueness. Then Juror 8 stands up and presents another switch knife from his pocket. The jurors were amazed: “Look at it! It’s the same knife!” (Rose

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