Two decades on... Justice at last for Stephen Lawrence

TWO men were today found guilty of the murder of Stephen Lawrence, nearly 19 years after the teenager died.
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Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, were convicted by a jury at the Old Bailey.

Mr Lawrence was killed in a racist attack by a gang of youths in Eltham, south east London in April 1993.

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There had been total silence in court as the jury foreman of the jury said “guilty” when asked if the four women and eight men had reached verdicts on the murder charge.

Neville and Doreen Lawrence sat separately at the back of the court but both kept their composure and appeared to show little emotion.

But they slowly both began to weep as the results sunk in. Mr Lawrence covered his eyes and Mrs Lawrence was handed a hanky.

Dobson and Norris, both dressed in grey suits, had stood with their hands behind them.

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The judge Mr Justice Treacy then asked for them to be taken down to the cells.

As he was leaving Dobson called out to the jury: “You have condemned an innocent man here. I hope you can live with yourselves.”

His mother Pauline called out from the public gallery above: “He didn’t kill that man.”

After a further hearing later today, the judge said he would sentence them tomorrow.

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Stephen’s mother Doreen Lawrence today attacked the original police investigation into her son’s murder, saying that detectives “failed miserably” to find his killers back in 1993.

She thanked jurors for finding Gary Dobson and David Norris guilty but said it was not a cause for celebration.

Speaking outside the Old Bailey, Mrs Lawrence said: “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.”

Mrs Lawrence said her relief at the verdicts was mixed with anger that she and her family were put through nearly two decades of “grief and uncertainty” not knowing if or when they would get justice.

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“These verdicts will not bring my son back. How can I celebrate when I know that this day could have come 18 years ago if the police who were meant to find my son’s killers (had not) failed so miserably to do so?” she said.

Mrs Lawrence warned against using today’s convictions as evidence that racial discrimination in Britain was now a thing of the past.

“The fact is that racism and racist attacks are still happening in this country, and the police should not use my son’s name to say that we can move on,” she said.

She said she wanted people to think of Stephen as something other than a murdered black teenager.

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“I now want people to remember him as a bright, beautiful young man who any parents of whatever background would have been proud of,” she said.

“He was a wonderful son and a shining example of what any parent would want in a child. I miss him with a passion. Hopefully now he can rest in peace.”

Stephen’s father Neville said he was conscious there were five or six attackers that night and that he didn’t think he would “be able to rest until they are brought to justice”.

“I have not been able to rest all this time,” Mr Lawrence said in a statement read outside court by his solicitor, Jocelyn Cockburn.

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“I am therefore full of joy and relief that today, finally, two of my son’s killers have been convicted of his murder.

“They will be sent to prison and face the consequence of their actions.”

Mr Lawrence’s friend Duwayne Brooks, who was with him when he was killed, welcomed the verdicts, writing on Twitter: “Some JUSTICE at last.”

Stephen Lawrence justice campaigners described “a sense of huge relief” today as they celebrated the end of the 18-year ordeal.

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Paul Anderson-Walsh, chief of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, hailed the victim’s mother Doreen for being “a metaphor for the very best of British values”.

Welcoming today’s guilty verdicts against Gary Dobson and David Norris, he said: “Throughout the 18-year ordeal, the Lawrence family’s desire has been the pursuit of justice - today, justice was served.

“As one door closes, they are determined to make sure that other doors open.”

Michael Mansfield QC, who represented Mr Lawrence’s parents at his inquest, hailed the “huge dignity and persistence” they had shown in seeking justice.

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He added: “It is a component in changing the public perception of these cases. This is just another milestone for the family in a very long journey.

“It is a real tribute to the family that they have fought so long to bring about change.”

Mr Anderson-Walsh added: “Stephen Lawrence’s murder leaves in its wake a changed criminal justice landscape, but it is a change in the social justice topography that the Lawrence family hopes will be Stephen Lawrence’s lasting legacy.

“The greatest desire of the Lawrence family is to give to others what was so cruelly snatched from Stephen - a chance to fulfil their potential in life.

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“Through the Trust that bears his name, Doreen Lawrence and those who work for and with the Trust are helping to grow a fairer society by watering the seeds of ambition, one ‘Stephen’ at a time.

“Whilst Stephen’s death has become a metaphor for individual and institutional racism, Stephen’s mother, the inspirational Doreen Lawrence OBE is a metaphor for the very best of British values: dignity, courage and sheer tenacity.”