Juror 10 Essay, Research Paper

Juror 10

There are two main characteristics of the 10th juror that influence his verdict. The first is that juror 10 is prejudiced against the defendant (most likely he is racist, but we can not be 100% sure). The second is that he is uncaring and impatient.

The first time we get a glimpse of juror 10 s prejudice is on page 7 when he says It s the element. I m telling you they let those kids run wild up there. Well, maybe it serves them right. He believes that anyone coming from a poor neighborhood is less than human. We can see right from the start that the verdict that the defendant is undoubtedly guilty is locked in his mind simply because he has a personal grudge against people like the defendant. Next, on page 10 and 14, he states You can t believe a word they say and The kids who crawl outa those places are real trash . Clearly it can be seen that he has a certain unfounded prejudice towards the defendant, viewing him as a liar and a piece of trash, with no supporting evidence. This prejudice most surely influences his verdict of guilty without view of any evidence. If that is not enough, starting on page 62 Juror 10 begins a speech lasting 2 pages in which he spews out his views of people like the defendant: Human life doesn t mean as much to them as it does to us And they are-wild animals.

Juror 10 is an impatient and uncaring/unconcerned person. It is made clear by viewing his lines that Juror 10 does not take his part on the jury seriously and only wants to reach a consensus as quickly as possible. His reason is quickly found on page 22 when he states, I got three garages of mine going to pot while your talking. Let s get done and get outa here. On page 34 he impatiently asks, What s the idea of wasting everybody s time here? Clearly he just wants to get back to his garages; he selfishly feels that his own problems are worth more effort than the life of a boy. On page 52 his impatience and uncaring come out quite clearly in his conversation with the fellow guilty jurors. I think we should just quit, he says, Those people in there are suddenly like it s some kind of mission or something. It is quite clear Juror 10 just wants to quit and go home without trying to think about the case. On page 69, Juror 10 realizes everyone is voting not guilty so he changes his vote solely to reach a consensus and go home: Yes, I think he s guilty. But I couldn t care less. You smart bastards do whatever you want to do . Not guilty . Do whatever you want.

Therefore it can be seen how Juror 10 s prejudice and impatience influence his verdict without considering the facts of the case. Juror 10 views the defendant as a lying piece of trash and does not take his place in the jury seriously.