Lawrence murder jail terms ‘not too lenient’

Attorney General Dominic Grieve yesterday refused to refer the terms given to Gary Dobson and David Norris for the racist killing to the Court of Appeal.

Sources close to Mr Lawrence’s mother Doreen said that she had realised the sentencing judge’s hands were tied in having to sentence them as juveniles, since they were under 18 at the time of the murder, and was not surprised by the decision.

Mr Grieve said it was a despicable crime. “Justice was long delayed and I can fully understand why some people are unhappy that the minimum terms handed down were not longer. However, having considered the sentences carefully I have come to the conclusion that the minimum terms are within the appropriate range of sentences, bearing in mind the offenders’ ages at the time of the crime, and therefore I have decided not to refer them to the Court of Appeal.

“It is perhaps worth emphasising that the terms are the minimum periods that will actually be served. Dobson and Norris will not be released unless and until the Parole Board considers they do not pose a risk.”

Both men are seeking to challenge their convictions.

They were sentenced to life at the Old Bailey last month, nearly 19 years after Stephen was stabbed to death. Dobson, 36, who was already serving a five-year sentence for drug dealing, has to serve at least 15 years and two months before he becomes eligible to apply for parole.

Norris, 35, was given a minimum of 14 years and three months for the murder, which the trial judge, Mr Justice Treacy, said was a “terrible and evil crime”.

He urged police not to “close the file” on catching the rest of the killers after the court heard that a gang of five or six white youths set upon the A-level student in Eltham, south-east London, in 1993.

Mr Justice Treacy said the murder was committed “for no other reason than racial hatred”.

He told the court the evidence during their trial could not prove who had wielded the knife, but he said that whoever used it had done so with Dobson and Norris’s “knowledge and approval”. Neither had shown “the slightest regret or remorse” since the murder and both had lied to the court.

Referring to the length of sentence, he added: “In short, the law dictates that I must sentence you by reference to your age and maturity at the time of the crime. I cannot sentence you as the mature men you now are.

“It may be, therefore, that the resultant sentences are lower than some might expect.”