| “ | What's the matter with you, guys? You all know he's guilty! He's got to BURN!! You're letting him slip through our fingers! | „ |
| ~ Juror 3 trying to convince the others to declare a vote for 'guilty'. |
Juror 3 is the third of twelve jury members and the main antagonist in the teleplay and movie 12 Angry Men.
He was portrayed by the late Lee J. Cobb in the 1957 film, and by the late George C. Scott in the 1997 TV film.
Role
Juror 3 is a businessman who has a short temper. He was called in for jury duty to discuss the case of a teenager boy who was allegedly believed to have stabbed his father to death. The jurors are told to come up a unanimous vote: the boy will receive a death sentence if declared guilty.
Throughout the story, almost all of the jurors (including Juror 3) had their vote to 'guilty', except for Juror 8 (the protagonist), who finds reasonable doubt. Because of this, Juror 3 finds himself at odds with Juror 8 and mocks him for his sympathy towards the boy, and maintained with his guilty vote.
However, as story goes, Juror 8 manages to point out several omissions that no one could see when the crime happened, which caused the other jurors to change their votes to 'not guilty'. Despite this, Juror 3 maintained with his guilty vote, and finally breaks down, revealing that he has a son who hasn't talked to him for 2 years and that the accused boy reminds him of the strained relationship that Juror 3 has with his son, which would explain why he declared his guilty vote.
After tearing a picture of himself and his son, Juror 3 weeps and finally votes "not guilty", knowing that it is not worth it. With the vote unanimous, the jurors leave to declare their decision to the court. While they do so, Juror 8 helps the distraught Juror 3 with his coat as a sign of compassion, and Juror 3 respectfully nods in return.
