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Act I

• After five days of hearing evidence in the trial of a young man for murdering his father, the jury retires to deliberate on the verdict.

• The conditions in the jury room are uncomfortable and the jurors are anxious to return to their own lives.

• Without any discussion, a vote is taken in which eleven men vote "guilty" and one man votes "not guilty".

• An argument ensues in which the eleven men try to convince juror number 8 that the man is guilty.
• During the argument, members of the jury reveal their own viewpoints, concerns and prejudices.

• Jurors present arguments about the reliability of witnesses and the defendant's history of criminal behavior.

• Number 10 reveals that a woman who could not sleep on the night of the murder testified that she saw the murder through a moving el train.

• Number 8 asks why they should believe this woman when earlier...

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