How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from 12 Angry Men.
Quote #1
JUROR #8: The judge won't accept a hung jury. We haven't been here long.
When it looks as though the men will never agree on a verdict, some of them start suggesting that they go back to the judge to say they are a hung jury, meaning that the trial will have to start all over again with a new jury. But Juror #8 knows that another jury will convict the defendant immediately, and he assumes it's his responsibility to make sure the kid gets his Not Guilty verdict while he (#8) still has the power to do something about it.
Quote #2
JUROR #3: He's an old man. You saw him. Half the time he was confused. How could he be positive about … anything?
The funny thing about this quote is that only a minute earlier, Juror #3 was saying that they had to accept the testimony of the old witness as fact. But now Juror #8 has tricked him into showing his prejudice toward sending the defendant to the electric chair.
Quote #3
JUDGE: Murder in the first degree—premeditated homicide—is the most serious charge in our criminal courts.
The judge doesn't make any bones about the fact that murder in the first degree is as serious a crime as anyone can charged for in criminal court. It's for this reason that he insists that all of the jurors think very seriously about their responsibility to make sure that the trial ends with a proper and just sentence.
Quote #4
JUROR #4: We're not here to go into the reasons why slums are breeding grounds for criminals. They are. I know it.
Of all the jurors, #4 seems to be the most emotionally cold and rational. He doesn't even sweat until long after all the other men have lost a gallon of water each to the brutal heat. But like anyone, Juror #4 has his own prejudices, and we can see here that he doesn't always offer evidence. He just says, "I know it."
Quote #5
JUROR #10: I'll tell you something. The crime is being committed right in this room.
Juror #10 is the most racially prejudiced of anyone in the jury room. He's so biased that he thinks the other men are committing a crime by just considering the fact that the defendant might be innocent. In his mind, he might even believe that he's the only person in the room who cares about justice.
Quote #6
JUROR #3: You come in here with your heart bleeding all over the floor about slum kids and injustice but you make up these wild stories, and you've got some soft-hearted old ladies listening to you.
Like Juror #10, Juror #3 thinks that the rest of the men in the room are a bunch of softhearted fools who will believe any sob story anyone tells them. In his mind, justice means being tough on people and assuming the worst of them if the charge is something as serious as murder.
Quote #7
JUROR #11: What kind of man are you? You have sat here and voted guilty with everyone else because there are some baseball tickets burning a hole in your pocket.
Juror #11 can't believe it when he finds out that #7 has been voting with the majority of jurors all night just so he can get out of the courthouse as soon as possible. For #11, this is the most irresponsible and unjust thing a person could ever do in this kind of situation. And we're inclined to agree with him.
Quote #8
JUROR #11: If you want to vote not guilty, then do it because you are convinced the man is not guilty. If you believe he is guilty, then vote that way. Or don't you have the … the guts—the guts to do what you think is right?
As he spells out pretty clearly, Juror #11 wants #7 to vote with his conscience instead of his watch. The problem now is that we can't believe anything #7 says, since he refuses to explain his reasons for voting whatever way he does.
Quote #9
JUROR #10: I don't understand you people. How can you believe this kid is innocent? Look, you know how those people lie. I don't have to tell you. They don't know what truth is.
Juror #10's idea of justice seems to be the following: convict and execute any defendant who isn't white. Even worse, the guy just gets more racist as the movie goes on, until it seems like there's nothing behind his reasons for a Guilty verdict other than race.
Quote #10
JUROR #3: I don't care whether I'm alone or not! I have a right.
By the end of the movie, Juror #3 is the last man holding out for a Guilty verdict. But at this point, we can tell that his only reason for holding on to his anger is his own personal hang-ups about being a lousy father. When he finally realizes this, he breaks down and gives his permission for a Not Guilty verdict. So in the end, it looks like everyone on the jury gives a just verdict, although they do so for pretty different reasons.