Pessimistic Views of Twelve Angry Men
Pessimistic Views of Twelve Angry Men
Critique Essay
October 8, 2013
“The innocent’s worst enemy is time”
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The criminal justice system of the United States was built on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. It was necessary because the accused was not considered “innocent until proven guilty”. To preserve the rights of the accused and give individual’s accused of criminal activity a fair trial, a criminal justice system was necessary and needed to keep peace. Not taking evidence at face value violates the founding principles of the United States criminal justice system and condemning one to death with a spur-of-the-moment glance at the evidence is neither about protecting the rights of the accused as a human being nor finding the truth to deliver immediate justice. The criminal justice system relies on jurors to protect the accused from government oppression and to judge fairly and without personal bias. Juries are ordinary citizens used to determine if the accused is guilty or not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The story reveals the “imperfections” of the juror system in America. There are numerous issues with this jury that are relevant to the criminal justice system. Before deliberation even started eleven jurors automatically vote in favor of convicting the accused without discussing any evidence presented during the trial. I can see where the evidence seems damaging to the accused: the accused had a poor alibi, the old man that lived downstairs heard an argument between the teen and the victim, and he heard the victim say that the teen would “kill him”, the fact that a distinctive switch-blade was used as a murder weapon and that was supposedly bought by the rebellious teen, and the testimony from witness who has poor eye-sight stated she witnessed the stabbing through a passing train. Without difficulty can one understand and warrant the majority of the jury’s initial vote for a guilty verdict.
Critique Essay
October 8, 2013
“The innocent’s worst enemy is time”
-
The criminal justice system of the United States was built on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. It was necessary because the accused was not considered “innocent until proven guilty”. To preserve the rights of the accused and give individual’s accused of criminal activity a fair trial, a criminal justice system was necessary and needed to keep peace. Not taking evidence at face value violates the founding principles of the United States criminal justice system and condemning one to death with a spur-of-the-moment glance at the evidence is neither about protecting the rights of the accused as a human being nor finding the truth to deliver immediate justice. The criminal justice system relies on jurors to protect the accused from government oppression and to judge fairly and without personal bias. Juries are ordinary citizens used to determine if the accused is guilty or not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The story reveals the “imperfections” of the juror system in America. There are numerous issues with this jury that are relevant to the criminal justice system. Before deliberation even started eleven jurors automatically vote in favor of convicting the accused without discussing any evidence presented during the trial. I can see where the evidence seems damaging to the accused: the accused had a poor alibi, the old man that lived downstairs heard an argument between the teen and the victim, and he heard the victim say that the teen would “kill him”, the fact that a distinctive switch-blade was used as a murder weapon and that was supposedly bought by the rebellious teen, and the testimony from witness who has poor eye-sight stated she witnessed the stabbing through a passing train. Without difficulty can one understand and warrant the majority of the jury’s initial vote for a guilty verdict.