12 men and a verdict

Lumet's film 12 Angry Men deals with the deliberations of twelve jurors who must decide whether a Puerto Rican teenager accused of stabbing his father to death is guilty or not with conviction leading to the electric chair. The decision must be unanimous as US law states that the defendant should only be found guilty if there is no doubt about the charges against him. The work is discussed from the perspective of communication theory and systemic theory drawing a parallel with the mediation process. It addresses the communication processes and barriers that occur in group activity expressing existing conflicts as well as possibilities for openness. The forms of leadership the mediating functions of the members the moments of the process and the techniques employed in mediation are identified and discussed as the surrounding plot develops. The analysis and discussion occur concurrently with the description of the scenes from the film inside a jury room being constructed step by step according to the development of the story.