In his summing-up, the judge solemnly reminds the jury of its responsibilities. If they are satisfied that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, they must vote to convict him. If not, they must acquit him of this most serious of crimes. Furthermore, they are to deliberate honestly and thoughtfully in arriving at their verdict.

At first, it seems that the judge's noble words have fallen on deaf ears. All but one of the jurors already appears to have made up his mind that the defendant is guilty as charged. Furthermore, some of the jurors don't appear to be taking their onerous responsibilities all that seriously. There's a young man's life at stake, and yet all Juror Twelve can think of is getting things over with as quickly as possible so that he can go back to work.

As for Juror Seven, he regards the proceedings as something of a chore but is certain that the case is so simple and straightforward that there's unlikely to be any trouble in coming to a unanimous decision, as the judge instructed. Juror Ten has made his mind up on the basis of prejudice. The crime of which the defendant has been accused is the kind of thing you'd expect from "such people."