2 men found guilty in UK Black teen’s murder

By | Last updated: Jan 18, 2012 - 10:24:15 AM

These are undated photos released by England’s Crown Prosecution Service handout of Gary Dobson, left, and David Norris, who have been found guilty of the murder of Stephen Lawrence at the Old Bailey in London Jan. 3. Stephen Lawrence was killed in a racist attack by a gang of youths in Eltham, southeast London in April 1993. Photo: AP/Wide World photos

LONDON (AP)—In a case that exposed racism and incompetence in Scotland Yard and took nearly two decades to bring anyone to justice, a jury found two men guilty Jan. 3 of brutally stabbing a Black teenager to death.

Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, were convicted of killing 18-year-old Stephen Lawrence as he waited for a night bus in southeast London in 1993. The pair was sentenced to 15 and 14 years in prison, respectively, the next day.

“Had the police done their job properly, I would have spent the last 18 years grieving for my son rather than fighting to get his killers to court,” said Stephen Lawrence’s mother, Doreen, who said the verdict was tinged with sadness.

The investigation—which has seen multiple court appearances by suspects over the years but no convictions until now—led to strong criticism of London’s Metropolitan Police and resulted in an investigation that found the force was “institutionally racist” and had bungled evidence-gathering. It also led to a change in Britain’s double jeopardy rules.

Stephen Lawrence’s mother Doreen Lawrence speaks to the media outside the Old Bailey in central London Jan 3, following the conviction of Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris for the racist murder of her teenaged son in 1993. The case—which has seen multiple court cases but no convictions until now—led to strong criticism of London’s Metropolitan Police and resulted in an investigation that found that the force was “institutionally racist”. Photo: AP/Wide World photos

It has been one of the most notorious unsolved murder cases in Scotland Yard’s recent history—and police admit the investigation isn’t over yet.

Mr. Lawrence, who had wanted to study architecture, was stabbed twice and bled to death as he stood at a bus stop with his friend Duwayne Brooks. He was attacked by a gang of youths and police say they believe others were involved in the stabbing.

“I do not think I’ll be able to rest until they are all brought to justice,” Lawrence’s father Neville said in a statement read out by his lawyer after the verdict.

Arrests weren’t made until two weeks after the murder. Then—in 1996—three of the suspects—Neil Acourt, Luke Knight and Mr. Dobson—were acquitted.

Tireless campaigning from Lawrence’s family—and a change of government in 1997—helped keep the case alive, with Britain’s left-leaning Labour Party commissioning a public inquiry into the murder and the police investigation.

The resulting report, written by William Macpherson, found that the police were “institutionally racist” and had failed to investigate Lawrence’s murder carefully because he was Black.

The Macpherson report led to a sea change in British race relations—and breathed new life into the prosecution after authorities relaxed England’s rules on double jeopardy, which say that a person cleared of a crime cannot be retried for the same offense.

Still, obstacles remained.

In 2004, prosecutors announced there was “insufficient evidence” to pursue anyone for the murder amid allegations of police corruption.

But new forensic evidence uncovered in 2007 helped save the case.

Scientists subjected the evidence to months of careful tests, retrieving fibers from clothing taken from the suspects. They found a single hair matching Mr. Lawrence’s DNA and a microscopic blood stain invisible to the naked eye.

In 2011, a new trial was set up at London’s Central Criminal Court.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said he hoped the conviction would offer some comfort to Stephen Lawrence’s family.

He said the verdict would not “ease the pain of losing a son, but ... I hope that it brings at least some comfort after their years of struggle.”

Labour leader Ed Miliband said he believed the Lawrence case would leave a powerful legacy for Britain.

“The murder of Stephen Lawrence was not only a tragedy for a talented young man and his family, it was a wake-up call to all of us who believe Britain is—and always must be—a country where everyone is shown respect irrespective of race, culture or faith.”

Accused Dobson and Norris had both denied the charges. After the verdict, Mr. Dobson said as he was leaving the court: “You have condemned an innocent man here, I hope you can live with yourselves.”

Mr. Dobson received a 15 year and 2 month sentence. Mr. Norris is to be jailed for 14 years and 3 months. Three other suspects remain at large.

Mr. Dobson’s father shouted out “shame on you” after the sentence was passed.

Judge Colman Treacy said the sentences were shorter than many would have expected as both men were teenagers when the crime took place. Judge Treacy said that an adult today convicted of a racist knife murder would get a minimum of 30 years in jail, but as Mr. Dobson was 17 and Mr. Norris just 16 at the time of the crime, he only had to give them a minimum of 12 years.

He added extra time because of the racist nature of their attack and because neither had shown any remorse or contrition.

While sentencing Dobson and Norris, Judge Treacy said the two belonged to a “racist, thuggish gang.”

Another three men had been initially arrested after Lawrence’s murder but have never been convicted of the crime.

The judge urged police to pursue the other members of the gang that killed Stephen Lawrence.

Police chief Bernard Hogan-Howe, commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police, said the force would not give up.

“The other people involved in the murder of Stephen Lawrence should not rest easy in their beds,” he said.

Michael Mansfield, who represented Lawrence’s parents, praised the family’s “huge dignity and persistence” they had shown in seeking justice.

Mr. Lawrence’s mother Doreen said she was no longer angry but the sadness remained.

“In the early days I would be angry, definitely, but somehow I don’t feel that anger anymore,” she said in a prerecorded interview with Sky Television News.

“The sadness is always there but the anger is not,” she said, adding that anger “eats away at you and is not a healthy thing.”

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