STEPHEN Lawrence’s dad has revealed the heartbreaking moment he last saw his son alive as the teen’s vile killer makes a bid for freedom.
The 19-year-old was stabbed to death in 1993 at a bus stop in Eltham, South London, in a sickening racist slaughter that shocked the nation.
Stephen Lawrence was murdered in 1993[/caption]
David Norris is making a bid for freedom[/caption]
His parents were forced to wait 19 years to see two men – Gary Dobson and David Norris – finally caged over the horror.
A parole board hearing is taking place to decide whether Norris should be freed or moved to an open prison.
Stephen’s dad Neville Lawrence, who tirelessly fought for justice, today revealed his last moments with his son.
He recalled Stephen saying “see ya” and asking if he was OK before he left the house on the day he was killed.
The dad added: “Maybe I had a premonition. I wish more than anything he had come straight home”.
Neville also told the court how Stephen “looked like he was sleeping” when he went to see his body after he died.
His moving statement came after he said “justice has not been done” if Norris is released without naming the other members of the gang who murdered his son.
Stephen’s mum Baroness Doreen Lawrence also gave evidence today as she urged the parole board not to set Norris free.
She said she fears for her family’s safety and that it is her “firm view” that he should remain in prison.
The mum continued: “This person has shown nor expressed any acceptance, any contrition and certainly has no humanity.
“If he did, he would have told us what he did, why he did and taken responsibility for his murderous actions.
“He has not and so I cannot forgive him. Anyone who does not accept what they have done and shown remorse for it remains in my view a danger to the public.
“If there is no acceptance, there is no insight; if there is no insight there is no learning; if there is no learning, there is a risk of repetition and harm, serious harm.
“I am of the view that this person is a risk to society and dangerous. I simply cannot see him walking the streets of our diverse country without thinking that he would harm someone like me – a black person.”
Baroness Lawrence also told how Norris’ sadistic actions caused her life to change forever.
She said Stephen being killed in the “most brutal and callous fashion” led to her getting divorced and caused her to suffer “extraordinarily painful mental health“.
The mum also explained how her son’s murder led her to lose her privacy as she fought for justice and made her the victim of harassment.
She continued: “When this person was arrested and charged, I was hoping for some answers as to why it was that my son was killed.
“Instead, sitting in that courtroom every day, I had to hear denial after denial.
“He gave his evidence with arrogance believing that he was owed that by the criminal justice that had protected him for so long.
“There was no hint of empathy or feeling for what me and my family had gone through. There were no answers or explanations. I am left, still, to wonder: why Stephen?”
Stephen was murdered as he waited at a bus stop with his friend Duwayne Brooks on April 22, 1993.
What followed was one of the longest, most complex and mishandled murder investigations in Met Police history allowing the suspected killers to evade justice for almost 20 years.
It also highlighted racism in the UK and led to intense scrutiny of police forces across the country.
In 1998, a public inquiry into the Stephen’s murder investigation found the Met was institutionally racist.
In May 2011 Gary Dobson and David Norris finally faced trial for Stephen’s murder following a review of forensic evidence that found the victim’s DNA on the defendants’ clothes.
Timeline of Stephen’s murder
April 1993 – Stephen Lawrence is stabbed to death in an unprovoked racist attack by a gang of white youths as he waits at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London, with his friend Duwayne Brooks. Brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt, Gary Dobson, and David Norris are identified as suspects through police tip-offs.
May 1993 – Stephen’s family hold a press conference saying not enough has been done to catch his killers.
June 1993 – The Acourt brothers, Dobson, Norris, and another suspect, Luke Knight, are arrested. Neil Acourt and Knight are picked from an ID parade by Duwayne and charged with murder – which they deny.
July 1993 – Charges are dropped against the pair as the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) says the evidence is unreliable. A Detective Sergeant says Duwayne told him he was unsure of those he picked – which he denies saying.
April 1994 – CPS says new evidence is still insufficient to support murder charges.
September 1994 -Stephen’s parents begin a private prosecution.
April 1996 – The prosecution of Neil Acourt, Knight and Dobson is held at the Old Bailey but the trial collapses as the judge rules the identification evidence is inadmissible. The three are acquitted meaning they can’t be tried again.
February 1997 – The Lawrences slam the cops handling of the investigation and go to the Police Complaints Authority. The Daily Mail publishes a front page headlined ‘Murderers’ and pictured two Acourt brothers, Norris, Knight, and Dobson.
December 1997 – A Police Complaints Authority report on the original police investigation of Lawrence’s murder identifies “significant weaknesses, omissions and lost opportunities”. It says there is no evidence of racist conduct by police.
July 1998 – Met Police Commissioner Sir Paul Condon makes an apology, saying: “I am truly sorry that we let you down.”
February 1999 – The Macpherson report finds the police guilty of mistakes and “institutional racism” and makes 70 recommendations on changes to policing and wider public policy.
September 2002 – Norris and Neil Acourt are jailed for 18 months for a racist attack on off-duty black policeman Gareth Reid the year prior.
April 2005 – The double jeopardy legal principle, preventing suspects being tried twice for the same crime, is scrapped for certain offences when there is new evidence.
May 2011 – The court of appeal agrees that Dobson’s 1996 acquittal for the murder can be quashed in the face of new forensic evidence.
November 2011 – The trial of Dobson and Norris for Lawrence’s murder begins at the Old Bailey.
January 2012 – Dobson and Norris are found guilty of murder, 18 years after the event. The new evidence includes a blood spot on Dobson’s jacket.
October 2015 – The National Crime Agency announces the Metropolitan police are being investigated for alleged corruption in the initial 1993 murder investigation.
April 2018 – Scotland Yard admits it has no new lines of inquiry in the investigation into Stephen Lawrence’s murder.
June 2023 – Police name new suspect in killing as Matthew White, who died in 2021
April 2024 – Met chief Sir Mark Rowley apologises to Stephen’s mum for not answering any questions or providing an update into the bungled White probe
October 2025 – David Norris parole hearing takes place
Both received life sentences with Dobson jailed for a minimum of 15 years and two months and Norris for 14 years and three months.
The judge at their trial described the attack as a “crime committed for no other reason than racial hatred”.
Two of three other suspects – Jamie and Neil Acourt – and have also served time for drug dealing.
While Luke Knight is still living in Eltham less than three miles from where 18-year-old Stephen was stabbed to death.
Norris’ minimum term expired in December 2024 and this is the first time he has been considered for parole.
Today’s hearing was told that the Justice Secretary will oppose his release.
The case continues.
Neville has urged Norris to name his son’s other killers[/caption]
