Stephen Lawrence: Gary Dobson and David Norris get 15 and 14 year minimum terms

Two men found guilty of the 1993 racist murder of Stephen Lawrence in south east London have been jailed for life.




Gary Dobson, 36, will serve a minimum of 15 years and two months and David Norris, 35, 14 years and three months.

The pair were sentenced at the Old Bailey as if they were juveniles because both were under 18 when the black teenager died.

The judge, Mr Justice Treacy, described the crime as a "murder which scarred the conscience of the nation".

Norris and Dobson were the first people convicted over the fatal attack on Mr Lawrence by a group of white youths near a bus stop in Eltham in April 1993.

Speaking outside court, Stephen Lawrence's mother Doreen said the minimum terms were quite low but she recognised "the judges' hands were tied" and thanked him for his sentencing remarks which recognised the stress the family had suffered for 18 years.

'No hiding behind ages'

She said: "He recognised the men and what they had done and there is no hiding behind their ages".

Mrs Lawrence said: "It's the beginning of starting a new life. We have been in limbo for so long."

Stephen Lawrence's father Neville said: "This is only one step in a long, long journey."

He thanked the police, the judge and the jury and called on the pair to "give up" the other people involved in his son's murder.

At an earlier media conference on Wednesday, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "The other people involved in the murder of Stephen Lawrence should not rest easily in their beds."

He added: "We are still investigating this case and I would just like to take this opportunity, if anybody out there has any more information or any evidence, even after all this time, please tell us then we'll do the rest."

In his sentencing remarks, which have now been published online, the judge also said he hoped Norris and Dobsons' convictions would "not close the matter" and that police would be alert to further lines of inquiry.

Coordinated attack

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Treacy said the murder was committed for no other reason than racial hatred.

He said Mr Lawrence was completely blameless and helpless and the "gravity of this case is high".

But he added that the sentences were lower than some would expect as he was "constrained by Parliament". Guidelines issued in 2003 suggest a 30-year minimum starting point for racially-aggravated murders but because the offence was committed in 1993 and the defendants were juveniles at the time the judge could not apply these.

"I'm sure that you knew one of your group was armed with a knife that night," the judge told Dobson and Norris.

He said it was "a brief but coordinated attack, a racist taunt, a charge and a swallowing up of Stephen Lawrence".

"The evidence does not prove you had the knife, but the holder had it with your approval," he said. "It does not matter the knife was not in your hands. You - Dobson - repeatedly lied as part of group loyalty."

Mr Justice Treacy said the encounter was chance not premeditated but that Norris and Dobson were prepared to attack if the opportunity arose.

He said there could be no mitigation for contrition because none had been shown. He said the pair were streetwise and not immature when the crime was committed.

The Lawrence case had previously "shamed" police, he said, but they could now be commended for their work, as could the forensic scientists involved.

As Mr Justice Treacy rose to leave the court, there was applause from some members of the public, but Dobson's father, Stephen, shouted "shame on all or you".