Was “the kid” guilty or innocent? 12 Angry Men Was “the kid” guilty or innocent?

Was “the kid” guilty or innocent? Here’s the evidence that The Kid committed murder, as discussed by the jury in the film:

A few hours before the murder, The Kid was heard loudly arguing with his father, at one point shouting words to the effect of, “I’m gonna kill you!”

An elderly man in an adjacent apartment testified that he saw The Kid flee the murder site immediately after he heard the old man scream.

A woman who lives across the street from the murder site testified that she actually saw The Kid stab his father to death through the windows of a passing elevated train.

The Kid’s alibi for the time of the murder was that he was at the movies, but when questioned the very same night, he couldn’t remember any details of the pictures he saw—titles, stars, anything.

The murder weapon—a switchblade knife—was, by The Kid’s own admission, identical to one he owns, and had been seen in his possession. The Kid claimed to have lost his knife that very night.

Here’s what has to be true in order for The Kid to be innocent of the murder:

He coincidentally yelled “I’m gonna kill you He coincidentally yelled “I’m gonna kill you!” at his father a few hours before someone else killed him. How many times in your life have you screamed that at your own father? Is it a regular thing?

The elderly man down the hall, as suggested by Juror No The elderly man down the hall, as suggested by Juror No. 9 (Joseph Sweeney), didn’t actually see The Kid, but claimed he had, or perhaps convinced himself he had, out of a desire to feel important.

The woman across the street saw only a blur without her glasses, yet positively identified The Kid, again, either deliberately lying or confabulating.

The Kid really did go to the movies, but was so upset by the death of his father and his arrest that all memory of what he saw vanished from his head. 

Somebody else killed The Kid’s father, for reasons completely unknown, but left behind no trace of his presence whatsoever.

The actual murderer coincidentally used the same knife that The Kid owns.

The Kid coincidentally happened to lose his knife within hours of his father being stabbed to death with an identical knife.