The play begins and ends in the jury room. The judge is not physically present in the main action, but before the beginning of the play, he gives instructions from offstage vantage point, telling the jurors that they have to say not guilty if there is a reasonable doubt. The judge obviously does not want an innocent man to be sentenced. He instructs the jurors to be unbiased and honest.
The jurors are made to realize that they have a very serious responsibility of deciding whether the accused boy is guilty or not guilty. Through the twelve jurors, the judge, and the way the deliberations and voting takes place in the play, the playwright is successful in telling the audience about the American justice system. The play has an obvious objective to attain through the jurors who are going to decide whether the accused is guilty or innocent.
