Twelve Angry Men: Act One

by Reginald Rose
The trial is over, and now the members of the jury hold a man's fate in their hands. Nearly everyone is convinced the defendant is guilty—everyone except Juror 8. He tries to convince the other jurors to acknowledge their preconceptions and examine the case with fresh eyes.

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. premeditated
    characterized by deliberate purpose and a degree of planning
    Murder in the first degree—premeditated homicide—is the most serious charge tried in our criminal courts.
  2. deliberate
    discuss the pros and cons of an issue
    I urge you to deliberate honestly and thoughtfully.
  3. conscience
    motivation deriving from ethical or moral principles
    If, however, there is no reasonable doubt—then you must, in good conscience, find the accused guilty.
  4. unanimous
    in complete agreement
    However you decide, your verdict must be unanimous.
  5. mandatory
    required by rule
    The death sentence is mandatory in this case.
  6. grave
    requiring serious thought
    You are faced with a grave responsibility.
  7. obvious
    easily perceived by the senses or grasped by the mind
    3RD JUROR: Really? I’ve sat on juries, and it always amazes me the way these lawyers can talk, and talk and talk, even when the case is as obvious as this one.
  8. logical
    marked by an orderly and coherent relation of parts
    12TH JUROR: I thought he was really sharp. I mean, the way he hammered home his points, one by one, in logical sequence.
  9. ignorant
    uneducated in general; lacking knowledge or sophistication
    9TH JUROR: It suddenly occurs to me that you must be an ignorant man.
  10. convince
    make realize the truth or validity of something
    12TH JUROR: Well, look, maybe this is an idea. I’m just thinking out loud, but it seems to me it’s up to us to convince this gentleman—[he indicates the 8th juror] that we’re right and he’s wrong.
  11. burden
    a serious or difficult concern
    8TH JUROR: Nobody has to prove otherwise. The burden of proof is on the prosecution.
  12. refute
    overthrow by argument, evidence, or proof
    3RD JUROR: Right. I mean, there are facts for you. You can’t refute facts.
  13. motive
    the reason that arouses action toward a desired goal
    Well, I was looking for the motive. That’s very important. If there’s no motive, where’s the case?
  14. provoke
    provide the needed stimulus for
    I can’t see two slaps in the face provoking him into committing murder.
  15. hostile
    characterized by enmity or ill will
    3RD JUROR: It’s the kids, the way they are nowadays. Angry! Hostile! You can’t do a damn thing with them.
  16. menace
    something that is a source of danger
    Children from slum backgrounds are potential menaces to society.
  17. prosecution
    lawyers for the state putting the case against the defendant
    I mean, if I was on trial for my life I’d want my lawyer to tear the prosecution witnesses to shreds, or at least to try.
  18. alleged
    declared but not proved
    Look, there was one alleged eyewitness to this killing.
  19. circumstantial
    suggesting that something is true without proving it
    There was a lot of circumstantial evidence, but actually those two witnesses were the entire case for the prosecution.
  20. exhibit
    a piece of evidence produced before a court of law
    4TH JUROR: The gentleman has a right to see exhibits in evidence.
  21. identify
    recognize as being
    The storekeeper who sold it to him identified the knife in court and said it was the only one of its kind he had ever had in stock.
  22. diverge
    move or draw apart
    Now this is where the stories offered by the boy and the State begin to diverge slightly.
  23. claim
    assert or affirm strongly
    He claims that the knife fell through a hole in his pocket some time between eleven thirty and three fifteen while he was on his trip to the movies and that he never saw it again.
  24. similar
    having the same or nearly the same characteristics
    8TH JUROR: No. I’m saying it’s possible that the boy lost the knife and that someone else stabbed his father with a similar knife.
  25. coincidence
    the property of two things happening at the same time
    Aren’t you asking us to accept a pretty incredible coincidence?
  26. probable
    likely but not certain to be or become true or real
    8TH JUROR: It’s possible.
    4TH JUROR: But not very probable.
  27. accomplish
    achieve with effort
    7TH JUROR: Yeah. What do you think you’re gonna accomplish? You’re not gonna change anybody’s mind.
  28. stubborn
    refusing to change one's mind or ways; difficult to convince
    So if you want to be stubborn and hang this jury, go ahead.
  29. abstain
    refrain from voting
    I’d like you eleven men to vote by secret written ballot. I’ll abstain. If there are still eleven votes for guilty, I won’t stand alone.
  30. constructive
    emphasizing what is laudable or hopeful or to the good
    FOREMAN: OK, let’s stop the yelling. Who’s got something constructive to say?
  31. entitled
    qualified for by right according to law
    I have always thought that in this country a man was entitled to have unpopular opinions . . .
  32. assume
    take to be the case or to be true
    Since the woman saw the stabbing through the last two cars, we can assume that the body fell to the floor just as the train passed by.
  33. accurate
    characterized by perfect conformity to fact or truth
    8TH JUROR: Well, I think that testimony that could put a human being into the electric chair should be that accurate.
  34. recognize
    show approval or appreciation of
    That’s a very sad thing, to be nothing. A man like this needs to be recognized, to be listened to, to be quoted just once.
  35. convict
    find or declare guilty
    8TH JUROR: Does he? It’s happened before that someone’s been convicted of murder and executed, and years later someone else has confessed to the crime.
  36. resent
    feel bitter or indignant about
    It could mean he resented being appointed.
  37. panic
    an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
    11TH JUROR: This then depends on your definition of panic.
  38. defend
    argue or speak in justification of
    11TH JUROR: I don’t have to defend my decision to you. I have a reasonable doubt in my mind.
  39. sanctimonious
    excessively or hypocritically pious
    You come in here with your sanctimonious talk about slum kids and injustice, and you make up some wild stories, and all of a sudden you start getting through to some of these old ladies in here.
  40. lunge
    make a thrusting forward movement
    The 3RD JUROR lunges wildly at the 8TH JUROR.
Created on Wed Sep 23 16:41:23 EDT 2015 (updated Thu Sep 13 16:39:09 EDT 2018)

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