Justice And Mercy In "12 Angry Men"

And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
   and to walk humbly with your God.
   Micah 6:8

A Simple Requirement?
During a recent mission trip, I was reminded of this short passage from the book of Micah. It's the famous pronouncement that summarizes God's will for everyone. At first glance, it seems like a pretty simple and clear command. What does God want from you? Act justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God.

Still, I found myself a bit stuck on this verse. Justice and mercy are two nouns that are pretty opposite of each other. Seeking justice invokes thoughts of punishment and accountability, of preventing evil. Mercy, on the other hand, invokes thoughts of compassion and forgiveness. How is someone supposed to balance these very different commands in their efforts to do God's will?

Justice And Mercy In 12 Angry Men

I was recently inspired as I watched one of my favorite movies, the classic 1957 film, 12 Angry Men. It's a phenomenal morality tale that pits twelve jurors in a room to decide a verdict in the case of an 18-year-old boy accused of killing his father. The story's protagonist is Juror #8, expertly portrayed by Henry Fonda. He is the lone dissenting voice who attempts to persuade the eleven other jurors to fully examine their evidence before sending the boy to the electric chair. Henry Fonda's Juror #8 is one of the best examples of simultaneously acting justly and loving mercy that I've ever seen. He wants to find out the truth, but realizes that none of the jurors will know for sure who the guilty party is. At the same time, he wants to show compassion to an accused boy who has had a very hard life. He says, "Well, there were eleven votes for guilty. It's not easy to raise my hand and send a boy off to die without talking about it first." This is acting justly and loving mercy. It's seeking to prevent evil from happening again, but upholding mercy as something valuable in every situation.

At first the case seems to be very open and shut. The accused boy has a weak alibi and a knife he claimed to have lost is found at the scene of the murder. But as Juror #8 stands up for the boy, stating that, "I just think we owe him a few words, that's all," other jurors slowly begin to listen and think more deeply about the evidence presented. The idea of "justice" starts to become a serious and thoughtful endeavor, rather than a impulsive opinion.

While all the jurors at first seem to be reasonable men who are fully capable of deciding a verdict for a murder trial, personal prejudices are slowly revealed. While justice may have been the initial goal for each juror, eleven of them didn't bring any concern for mercy to that table. What they did bring to the table was a history. Some have a prejudice against the boy because he is a foreigner. Others simply want to wrap it up and get on to other stuff, outside of that courthouse. Some of them identify with the slum upbringing of the accused boy. Still others start to question the testimony of the two eyewitnesses. And so mercy and justice begin their delicate dance, each taking their proper steps. One by one, the jurors show signs of mercy as they seek a fair and just decision. And the ones who maintain that the boy is guilty—even after examining much questionable evidence—start to show an unmerciful side, one that has the façade of a concern for justice, but is really fueled by anger and hatred.

It's not easy to summarize how to act justly while also showing mercy, but 12 Angry Men is a profound example of how this biblical passage should be lived out. In the end, these men faced their personal prejudices and they sought the fair and just decision. For Juror #8, it was a concern for mercy that seemed to compel his actions in that deliberation room. The actions and words of the 'unmerciful' jurors shows us why mercy is equally as important as justice. Justice without a concern for mercy isn't truly just. When our attempts at ending injustice aren't balanced with mercy, emotions like anger and bitterness steer the wheel. And can any good come from that?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050083/plotsummary