View source for Murder of Stephen Lawrence

{{short description|1993 killing in London}}
{{redirect|Stephen Lawrence|other people named Stephen Lawrence|Stephen Lawrence (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Murder of Philip Lawrence}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox News event
| date = 22 April 1993
| place = [[Well Hall Road]], [[Eltham]], England
| coordinates = {{coord|51.46132|0.04955|region:UK_type:event|display=inline,title}}<ref name="Macpherson C1"/>
| notes = [[Hate crime|Racially motivated attack]]
| image = Well_Hall_Road%2C_SE9_-_geograph.org.uk_-_229103.jpg
| caption = [[Well Hall Road]], Eltham, in 2006, near the scene of the crime.
| image_size = 320
}}

'''Stephen Adrian Lawrence''' (13{{nbs}}September 1974 – 22{{nbs}}April 1993) was an 18-year-old [[black British]] student from [[Woolwich]], southeast London, who was [[Murder in English law|murdered]] in a [[Hate crime|racially motivated attack]] while waiting for a bus on [[Well Hall Road]] in [[Eltham]], on the evening of 22{{nbs}}April 1993.<ref name="BBC inquiry">{{cite news|author=[[BBC News]]|title=Straw Announces Inquiry into Lawrence Murder|work=BBC News |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/politics97/news/07/0731/lawrence.shtml|year=1997|access-date=4 January 2008}}</ref> The case became a ''[[cause célèbre]]''; its fallout included changes of attitudes on racism and the police, and to the law and police practice. It also led to the partial revocation of the rule against [[double jeopardy]]. Two of the perpetrators were convicted of murder on 3{{nbs}}January 2012.<ref name=":1">"[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-26465916 Stephen Lawrence murder: A timeline of how the story unfolded]". [[BBC News]], 7 March 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2013.</ref>

After the initial investigation, five suspects were arrested but, at the time, not charged;<ref name="BBC detective">{{cite news|author=BBC News|title=Lawrence detective denies claim|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5232372.stm|work=[[BBC News]]|date=31 July 2006|access-date=4 January 2008}}</ref> a [[private prosecution]] subsequently initiated by Lawrence's family failed to secure convictions for any of the accused.<ref name="bbcqna">{{cite news|author=BBC News|title=Q&A: Stephen Lawrence murder| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3685733.stm|work=BBC News|date=5 May 2004|access-date=4 January 2008}}</ref> It was suggested during the investigation that Lawrence was killed because he was black, and that the handling of the case by the [[Metropolitan Police Service]] (MPS) and [[Crown Prosecution Service]] (CPS) was affected by issues of race. A 1998 [[public inquiry]],<ref name="Lawrence Inquiry">{{cite web|title=Sir William Macpherson's Inquiry Into The Matters Arising From the Death of Stephen Lawrence|publisher=Official Documents Archive|url=http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm42/4262/sli-00.htm|date=24 February 1999|access-date=21 June 2009}}<br />(see also summary: {{cite news|title=Lawrence: Key recommendations |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/285537.stm|access-date=5 January 2012|newspaper=BBC News|date=24 March 1999}})</ref> headed by [[William Macpherson (judge)|Sir William Macpherson]], concluded that the original MPS investigation was incompetent and that the force was [[Institutional racism|institutionally racist]]. It also recommended that the double jeopardy rule should be repealed in murder cases to allow a retrial upon new and compelling evidence: this was effected in 2005 upon enactment of the [[Criminal Justice Act 2003]]. The publication in 1999 of the resulting Macpherson Report has been called "one of the most important moments in the modern history of criminal justice in Britain".<ref name="bbcqna" /> [[Jack Straw]] said that ordering the inquiry was the most important decision he made during his tenure as [[home secretary]] from 1997 to 2001.<ref>{{cite news|title=Justice at last for Stephen Lawrence|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/crime/article3275748.ece|access-date=4 January 2012|newspaper=[[The Times]]|date=4 January 2012}}</ref> In 2010, the Lawrence case was said to be "one of the highest-profile unsolved racially motivated murders".<ref name="high profile">{{cite news|title=Lawrence murder suspect jailed for dealing|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/lawrence-murder-suspect-jailed-for-dealing-2022528.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/lawrence-murder-suspect-jailed-for-dealing-2022528.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=5 January 2012|newspaper=[[The Independent]] / [[Press Association]]|date=9 July 2010}}</ref>

On 18{{nbs}}May 2011, after a further review,<ref name="cold case">{{cite news|title=Lawrence: Killers Face Jail As Parents Speak|url=http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/16141887|access-date=4 January 2012|date=4 January 2012}}</ref> it was announced that two of the original suspects, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were to stand trial for the murder in the light of new evidence.<ref name="BBC trial">{{cite news|author=BBC News|title=Stephen Lawrence pair face murder trial|url =https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13438629|work=BBC News|date=18 May 2011|access-date=18 May 2011}}</ref> At the same time it was disclosed that Dobson's original acquittal had been quashed by the [[Court of Appeal (England and Wales)|Court of Appeal]], allowing a retrial to take place.<ref name="cps statement May 2011">{{cite web|title=Joint CPS and MPS statement on Stephen Lawrence case|url=http://blog.cps.gov.uk/2011/05/joint-cpsmps-statement-on-stephen-lawrence-case-.html|publisher=[[Crown Prosecution Service]]|access-date=5 January 2012|date=18 May 2011|archive-date=21 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121234510/http://blog.cps.gov.uk/2011/05/joint-cpsmps-statement-on-stephen-lawrence-case-.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Such an appeal had only become possible following the 2005 change in the law, although Dobson was not the first person to be retried for murder as a result.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tees/5412264.stm Double jeopardy man is given life], BBC News. 6 October 2006.</ref> On 3{{nbs}}January 2012, Dobson and Norris were found guilty of Lawrence's murder;<ref name="Dodd Laville 2012">{{cite news|last1=Dodd|first1=Vikram|last2=Laville|first2=Sandra|title=Stephen Lawrence verdict: Dobson and Norris guilty of racist murder|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jan/03/stephen-lawrence-verdict-guilty-murder?newsfeed=true|access-date=3 January 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=3 January 2012}}</ref> the pair were [[Minor (law)|juveniles]] at the time of the crime and were sentenced to [[At His Majesty's pleasure|detention at Her Majesty's pleasure]], equivalent to a [[life sentence]] for an adult,<ref name="sentencing remarks">{{cite web|title=R v DOBSON & NORRIS, Sentencing Remarks of Mr Justice Treacy, 4 January 2012|url=http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/Judgments/sentencing-remarks-dobson-norris-120104.pdf|access-date=4 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104180620/http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/Judgments/sentencing-remarks-dobson-norris-120104.pdf|archive-date=4 January 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> with minimum terms of 15 years 2 months and 14 years 3 months respectively<ref>{{cite news|last=Sandra Laville and Vikram Dodd|title=Stephen Lawrence murder: Norris and Dobson get 14 and 15 years|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jan/04/dobson-norris-murder-stephen-lawrence|access-date=4 January 2012|date=4 January 2012|work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> for what the judge described as a "terrible and evil crime".<ref name="irishexaminer">{{cite news|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/lawrence-killers-jailed-for-terrible-and-evil-crime-179051.html|title=Lawrence killers jailed for 'terrible and evil crime'|work=[[Irish Examiner]]|date=5 January 2012|first=Alice|last=Ritchie|access-date=1 April 2020}}</ref> In March 2025 Norris eventually admitted his involvement in the crime.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-21 |title=Stephen Lawrence killer admits role in attack - Parole Board |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly4xldgnzgo |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

In the years after Dobson and Norris were sentenced, the case regained prominence when concerns of corrupt police conduct during the original case handling surfaced in the media. Such claims had surfaced before, and been investigated in 2007, but were reignited in 2013 when a former undercover police officer stated in an interview that, at the time, he had been pressured to find ways to "smear" and discredit the victim's family, in order to mute and deter public campaigning for better police responses to the case. Although further inquiries in 2012 by both [[Scotland Yard]] and the [[Independent Police Complaints Commission]] had ruled that there was no basis for further investigation, Home Secretary [[Theresa May]] ordered an independent inquiry by a prominent [[King's Counsel|QC]] into undercover policing and corruption, which was described as "devastating" when published in 2014.<ref name="Lawrence Inquiry" /><ref name="theguardian_2014_report_response">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/06/stephen-lawrence-sshaming-of-the-met-leader|title=Stephen Lawrence: the shaming of the Met|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=6 March 2014|access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref>

== Stephen Lawrence ==
{{Infobox person
| name               = Stephen Lawrence
| image              = Stephen Lawrence.jpg
| alt                = Photograph of a young Afro-Caribbean male, cropped to show his chest and head. He has black hair, shaved very short, and a slight moustache. He is wearing a navy-and-white vertically striped crew neck shirt. He is standing in front of a large indoor plant.
| caption            = Lawrence in 1993
| birth_name         =
| birth_date         = 13 September 1974
| birth_place        = London, England<ref name="BBC profile">{{cite news|author=BBC News|title=Stephen Lawrence murder: Dobson and Norris found guilty|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16284890|work=BBC News|access-date=4 January 2012|date=3 January 2012}}</ref>
| death_date         = 22 April 1993
| death_place        = London, England
| death_cause        = [[Exsanguination]] due to [[stab wound]]s
| body_discovered    =
| resting_place      = [[Clarendon Parish, Jamaica|Clarendon]], Jamaica<ref name="BBC profile" />
| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} -->
| monuments          =
| nationality        =
| other_names        =
| citizenship        = British
| education          = [[Blackheath Bluecoat Church of England School]]
| alma_mater         =
| occupation         = Student
| height             = <!-- {{height|m=}} -->
| parents            = Neville Lawrence<br />[[Doreen Lawrence]]
| footnotes          =
}}

Stephen Adrian Lawrence was born in [[Greenwich District Hospital]] on 13{{nbs}}September 1974 to Jamaican parents who had emigrated to the UK in the 1960s. His father was Neville Lawrence, then a carpenter, and his mother was [[Doreen Lawrence|Doreen]], then a [[Special education in England|special needs teacher]].<ref name="BBC profile" /> Brought up in [[Plumstead]], South-East London, he was the eldest of three children, the others being Stuart (born 1976) and Georgina (born 1982).<ref name="Stephen's Story">{{cite web|url=http://www.stephenlawrence.org.uk/about-us/stephens-story/|title=Stephen's Story|publisher=Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust|access-date=9 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231182303/http://www.stephenlawrence.org.uk/about-us/stephens-story/|archive-date=31 December 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Wilkins 2001 1">{{cite book|last=Wilkins|first=Verna Alette|title=The Life of Stephen Lawrence|year=2001|publisher=Tamarind Limited|isbn=1-870516-58-3|page=1}}</ref>

During his teenage years, Lawrence excelled in running, competing for the local Cambridge Harriers athletics club, and appeared as an extra in [[Denzel Washington]]'s film ''[[For Queen and Country]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9305540/Stephen-Lawrence-profile-the-ambitious-teenager-with-a-fun-loving-streak.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9305540/Stephen-Lawrence-profile-the-ambitious-teenager-with-a-fun-loving-streak.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Stephen Lawrence profile: the ambitious teenager with a fun-loving streak|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=1 June 2012|first=John|last=Bingham|access-date=25 July 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> At the time of his [[Murder in English law|murder]], he was studying technology and physics at the [[Blackheath Bluecoat Church of England School|Blackheath Bluecoat School]] and English language and literature at [[Woolwich College]], and was hoping to become an architect.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-life-and-legacy-of-stephen-lawrence-6286671.html|title=The life and legacy of Stephen Lawrence|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=8 January 2012|first=Brian|last=Cathcart|access-date=3 May 2012}}</ref>

== Attack ==
Lawrence had spent the day of 22{{nbs}}April 1993 at Blackheath Bluecoat School.<ref name="Sutcliffe 1999">{{cite web|last=Sutcliffe|first=Roger|title=The murder of Stephen Lawrence [Archived]|url=http://www.dialogueworks.co.uk/newswise/months/feb99/lasen.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116082756/http://www.dialogueworks.co.uk/newswise/months/feb99/lasen.html|archive-date=16 November 2007|work=February 1999|publisher=Newswise|access-date=3 January 2012}}</ref>  After school, he visited shops in [[Lewisham]], then travelled by bus to an uncle's house in [[Grove Park, Lewisham|Grove Park]].  He was joined there by his friend [[Duwayne Brooks]], and they played [[video game]]s until leaving at around 10:00{{nbs}}pm.<ref name="Sutcliffe 1999" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry – Appendices – CM 4262-II (Revised)|publisher=The Stationery Office|year=1999}}</ref> After realising that the 286 bus on which they were travelling would get them home late, they decided to change for either bus route 161 or bus route 122 on [[Well Hall Road]].<ref name="Sutcliffe 1999" />

Lawrence and Brooks arrived at the bus stop on Well Hall Road at 10:25{{nbs}}pm.<ref name=":0" /> Lawrence walked along Well Hall Road to the junction of Dickson Road to see if he could see a bus coming.<ref name="Macpherson C1">{{cite web|last=Macpherson|first=William|title=THE MURDER OF STEPHEN LAWRENCE, Chapter 1|publisher=Official Documents Archive|url=http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm42/4262/sli-01.htm|date=24 February 1999|access-date=4 January 2008}}</ref> Brooks was still on Well Hall Road, between Dickson Road and the roundabout with Rochester Way and [[Westhorne Avenue]].<ref name="Macpherson C1" />

Brooks saw a group of six white youths, which included then–16-year-old David Norris, crossing Rochester Way on the opposite side of the street near the area of the [[zebra crossing]] and moving towards them.<ref name="Macpherson C1" /> At or just after 10:38&nbsp;pm, he called out to ask whether Lawrence saw the bus coming. Brooks claimed that he heard one of Lawrence's assailants saying a racial slur as they all quickly crossed the road and "engulfed" Lawrence.<ref name="Macpherson C1" />

The six aggressors forced Lawrence down to the ground, then stabbed him to a depth of about {{convert|5|in|cm|0}} on both sides of the front of his body, in the right [[collarbone]] and left shoulder.  Both wounds severed [[axillary artery|axillary arteries]] before penetrating a lung. Lawrence lost all feeling in his right arm and his breathing was constricted, while he was losing blood from four major blood vessels. Brooks began running, and shouted for Lawrence to run to escape with him. While the attackers disappeared down Dickson Road, Brooks and Lawrence ran in the direction of [[Shooters Hill]].  Lawrence collapsed after running {{convert|130|yd|m}}; he bled to death soon afterwards.<ref name="Macpherson C1" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/nov/16/stephen-lawrence-murder-trial|title=Stephen Lawrence killed because of 'the colour of his skin'|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=16 November 2011|first1=Sandra|last1=Laville|first2=Vikram|last2=Dodd|access-date=25 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Cathcart|first=Brian|title=The Case of Stephen Lawrence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Inr4-HJGhrAC&pg=PT25|access-date=25 July 2014|date=7 March 2012|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-241-96324-1|pages=25–}}</ref>  The pathologist recorded that Lawrence managing to run this distance with a partially collapsed lung was "a testimony to his physical fitness".<ref name="Macpherson C1"/>

Brooks ran to call an ambulance while an off-duty police officer stopped his car and covered Lawrence with a blanket. Lawrence was taken to [[Brook General Hospital]] by 11:05&nbsp;pm, but he was already dead.<ref name="Macpherson C1"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jan/03/stephen-lawrence-doreen-mother-statement|title=Lawrence verdict: 'I thought Stephen was seriously hurt. But not fatally'|work=[[The Guardian]]|first=Vikram|last=Dodd|date=3 January 2012|access-date=25 March 2016}}</ref>

== Trials ==
=== Witnesses ===
All three witnesses at the bus stop at the time of the attack said in their statements that the attack was sudden and short, although none were later able to identify the suspects.<ref name="Sutcliffe 1999" /> In the days following Lawrence's murder, several residents came forward to provide names of suspects and an anonymous note was left on a police car windscreen and in a telephone box naming a local gang<ref name="telegraph timeline">{{cite news|last=Evans|first=Martin|title=Interactive graphic: Stephen Lawrence murder timeline|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8974878/Interactive-graphic-Stephen-Lawrence-murder-timeline.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8974878/Interactive-graphic-Stephen-Lawrence-murder-timeline.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=5 January 2012|newspaper=[[Daily Telegraph]]|date=3 January 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> as the five main suspects.<ref name="Holohan 2005 123">{{cite book|last=Holohan|first=Siobhan|title=The search for justice in a media age: reading Stephen Lawrence and Louise Woodward|year=2005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aBxFkbEs2AsC|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|access-date=3 January 2012|isbn=978-0-7546-4380-7|page=123}}</ref> The suspects were Gary Dobson, brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt, Luke Knight, and David Norris.<ref name="Holohan 2005 123" /> In February 1999, officers investigating the handling of the initial inquiry revealed that a woman who might have been a vital witness had telephoned detectives three times within the first few days after the killing, and appealed for her to contact them again.<ref name="BBC appeal">{{cite news|author=BBC News|title=Police appeal for witness in Stephen Lawrence murder inquiry|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/278943.stm|work=BBC News|date=13 February 1999|access-date=4 January 2008}}</ref>

The five suspects were previously involved in racist knife attacks around the Eltham area.<ref>{{cite news|title=Stephen Lawrence murder – David Norris: profile|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8979601/Stephen-Lawrence-murder-David-Norris-profile.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8979601/Stephen-Lawrence-murder-David-Norris-profile.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=3 January 2012|access-date=26 July 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Four weeks before Lawrence's death, Dobson and Neil Acourt were involved in a racist attack on a black teenager, Kevin London, whom they verbally abused and attempted to stab.<ref>{{cite news|title=Stephen Lawrence murder – Gary Dobson: profile|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8979587/Stephen-Lawrence-murder-Gary-Dobson-profile.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8979587/Stephen-Lawrence-murder-Gary-Dobson-profile.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=3 January 2012|access-date=26 July 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Neil's brother Jamie was accused of stabbing teenagers Darren Witham in May 1992 and Darren Giles in 1994, causing Giles to suffer a cardiac arrest.<ref>{{cite news|title=Stephen Lawrence murder – Jamie Acourt, Neil Acourt and Luke Knight: profiles|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8974918/Stephen-Lawrence-murder-Jamie-Acourt-Neil-Acourt-and-Luke-Knight-profiles.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8974918/Stephen-Lawrence-murder-Jamie-Acourt-Neil-Acourt-and-Luke-Knight-profiles.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=3 January 2012|access-date=26 July 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The stabbings of victims Gurdeep Bhangal and Stacey Benefield, which both occurred in March 1993, in Eltham, were also linked to Neil and Jamie Acourt, David Norris and Gary Dobson.<ref>{{cite news|title=Spate of racist stabbings in Eltham had gone unpunished|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/spate-of-racist-stabbings-in-eltham-had-gone-unpunished-6284643.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/spate-of-racist-stabbings-in-eltham-had-gone-unpunished-6284643.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=[[The Independent]]|date=4 January 2012|access-date=27 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=I was stabbed by Lawrence gang outside Wimpy weeks before Stephen was killed|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/i-was-stabbed-by-lawrence-gang-outside-wimpy-weeks-before-stephen-was-killed-7305832.html|work=[[London Evening Standard]]|date=9 January 2012|access-date=27 July 2014}}</ref>

=== Initial investigations, arrests and prosecutions ===
Within three days of the crime, prime suspects had been identified.  No arrests were made at the time, however, until over two weeks after the murder. The police also did not investigate the suspects' houses for four days.  Detective Superintendent Brian Weeden, the officer who had been leading the murder investigation from its third day, and who led the [[murder squad]] for 14 months, explained to the McPherson inquiry in 1998 that part of the reason no arrests had taken place by the fourth day after the killing (Monday 26{{nbs}}April) was that he had not known the law allowed arrest upon [[reasonable suspicion]] – a basic point of criminal law.<ref name="Guardian-1998">{{cite news|last=Pallister|first=David|title=Police bungling that betrayed Stephen Lawrence|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1998/jul/18/lawrence.ukcrime|access-date=5 January 2012|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=18 July 1998}} – stated in the text to be "now, on the 49th day of the inquiry".</ref><ref name="BBC timeline">{{cite news|author=BBC News|date=2 December 1999|title=Stephen Lawrence – timeline of events|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/stephen_lawrence/timeline.htm|access-date=4 January 2008}}</ref>

On 7{{nbs}}May 1993, the Acourt brothers and Dobson were arrested. Norris turned himself in to police and was likewise arrested three days later.  Knight was arrested on 3{{nbs}}June. Neil Acourt, picked out at an [[identity parade]], and Luke Knight were charged with murder on 13{{nbs}}May and 23{{nbs}}June 1993 respectively, but the charges were dropped on 29{{nbs}}July 1993, the [[Crown Prosecution Service]] citing insufficient evidence.<ref name="BBC OTD">{{cite news|author=BBC News|title=1997: Lawrence 'killed by racists'|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/14/newsid_2723000/2723721.stm|work=BBC News|date=14 February 1997|access-date=4 January 2008}}</ref>

An internal review was opened in August 1993 by the [[Metropolitan Police]].  On 16{{nbs}}April 1994, the Crown Prosecution Service stated they did not have sufficient evidence for murder charges against anyone else, despite a belief by the Lawrence family that new evidence had been found.<ref name="Guardian-1998" />  The main issue was with the identification evidence by Brooks, which was seen as both tainted by procedural irregularities, and not strong enough under case law<!-- add the precedent Robur 1977? -->: this view was borne out by the later private prosecution.

=== Private prosecution ===
In September 1994,<ref name=":1" /> Lawrence's family initiated a [[private prosecution]] against the initial two suspects and three others: Jamie Acourt, Gary Dobson and David Norris. The family were not entitled to [[legal aid]] and a fighting fund was established to pay for the analysis of [[Forensic science|forensic evidence]] and the cost of tracing and re-interviewing witnesses.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}  The family were represented by leading counsel [[Michael Mansfield]] QC, assisted by Tanoo Mylvaganam and Annie Dixon who all worked ''[[pro bono]]''.<ref name="Lawyer funds">{{cite news|author=The Lawyer|title=Funds pour in for Lawrence action|url=http://www.thelawyer.com/funds-pour-in-for-lawrence-action/84152.article|publisher=[[The Lawyer]]|date=5 February 1995|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329060945/http://www.thelawyer.com/funds-pour-in-for-lawrence-action/84152.article|access-date=10 June 2009|archive-date=29 March 2012}}</ref>  The charges against Acourt and Norris were dropped before the trial for lack of evidence.  On 23{{nbs}}April 1996, the three remaining suspects were acquitted of murder by a jury at the [[Central Criminal Court]], after the trial judge, the Honourable Mr Justice Curtis, ruled that the identification evidence given by Duwayne Brooks was unreliable.<ref name="bbcqna"/>  The costs of the prosecution were paid out of the public purse.

The Macpherson report endorsed the judgement, stating that "Mr Justice Curtis could [have] properly reach[ed] only one conclusion" and that "[t]here simply was no satisfactory evidence available".<ref name="Lawrence Inquiry" />

=== Subsequent events (1994–2010) ===
[[File:Murderers_(Daily_Mail,_1997).jpg|thumb|After the February 1997 [[inquest]] returned a verdict of unlawful killing, the front page of the ''Daily Mail'' labelled all five suspects "murderers" and instructed them to sue if the assumption was wrong. Lawrence's parents and numerous political figures praised the ''Daily Mail'' for taking the potential financial risk of this front page.<ref>{{cite news|last1=O'Carroll|first1=Lisa|title=Stephen Lawrence's parents thank Daily Mail for 'going out on a limb'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/jan/04/stephen-lawrence-parents-daily-mail|access-date=28 September 2017|work=The Guardian|date=4 January 2012}}</ref>]]
An [[inquest]] into the death of Lawrence was held in February 1997. The five suspects refused to answer any questions, claiming privilege against self-incrimination.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/wall-of-silence-from-white-youths-at-lawrence-inquest-1278182.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/wall-of-silence-from-white-youths-at-lawrence-inquest-1278182.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Wall of silence from white youths at Lawrence inquest |newspaper=The Independent |date=12 February 1997 |access-date=6 January 2012}}</ref> The inquest concluded on 13{{nbs}}February 1997, with the jury returning a verdict after 30 minutes' deliberation of unlawful killing "in a completely unprovoked racist attack by five white youths"; this finding went beyond the bounds of their instructions.<ref>Ailsen Daniels, Duncan Campbell, "'Unlawfully killed in an unprovoked racist attack by five white youths'", ''The Guardian'', 14 February 1997, p. 1.</ref> On 14 February 1997, the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' newspaper labelled all five suspects "murderers". The headline read, "Murderers: The Mail accuses these men of killing. If we are wrong, let them sue us." Underneath this headline appeared pictures of the five suspects: Dobson, Neil and Jamie Acourt, Knight, and Norris.<ref name="British Library">{{cite web|author=British Library|title=Stephen Lawrence murder|url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/features/frontpage/lawrence.html|publisher=[[British Library]]|year=1997|access-date=4 January 2008}}</ref> None of the men ever sued for [[defamation]] and strong public opinions rose against the accused and the police who handled the case.<ref>{{cite news|last=Taylor|first=Adam|title=This Daily Mail Headline May Have Been Crucial in Putting Racist Murderers Behind Bars|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-lawrence-daily-mail-paul-dacre-2012-1|access-date=4 January 2012|newspaper=[[Business Insider]]|date=3 January 2012}}</ref>

In July 1997 an inquiry was ordered by the [[home secretary]] to identify matters related to the killing, known as the Macpherson Report, which was completed in February 1999  ''([[#The Macpherson Inquiry|see below]])''. In 2002, David Norris and Neil Acourt were convicted and jailed for racially aggravated harassment after an incident involving a plain-clothes black police officer.<ref name="BBC Norris Acourt jailed">{{cite news|author=BBC News|title=Lawrence pair jailed for race attack|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2240697.stm|work=BBC News|date=6 September 2002|access-date=4 January 2008}}</ref>

In 2005 the law was changed. As part of the findings on the Lawrence case, the Macpherson Report had recommended that the rule against [[double jeopardy]] (the [[common law]] rule that, once acquitted, an accused person could not be tried a second time for the same crime) should be [[repeal]]ed in murder cases, and that it should be possible to subject an acquitted murder suspect to a second trial if "fresh and viable" new evidence later came to light. The [[Law Commission]] later added its support to this in its report "Double Jeopardy and Prosecution Appeals" (2001). A parallel report into the [[criminal justice system]] by [[Robin Auld (judge)|Lord Justice Auld]], a former senior presiding judge for England and Wales, had also commenced in 1999 and was published as the Auld Report 6 months after the Law Commission report. It opined that the Law Commission had been unduly cautious by limiting the scope to murder and that "the exceptions should [...] extend to other grave offences punishable with life and/or long terms of imprisonment as Parliament might specify."<ref>{{cite web|title=A Review of the Criminal Courts of England and Wales by The Right Honourable Lord Justice Auld|url=http://www.criminal-courts-review.org.uk/|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090607141016/http://www.criminal-courts-review.org.uk/|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 June 2009|access-date=5 January 2012|date=September 2001}}</ref>

These recommendations were implemented within the [[Criminal Justice Act 2003]],<ref>[http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/30044--k.htm Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44)]. Opsi.gov.uk (23 December 2011). Retrieved on 2 January 2012.</ref> and this provision came into force in April 2005.<ref name="bbc double jeopardy">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4406129.stm Double jeopardy law ushered out], BBC News. 3 April 2005</ref> It opened murder and certain other serious crimes (including [[manslaughter]], [[kidnapping]], rape, [[robbery|armed robbery]], and some drug crimes) to a second prosecution, regardless of when committed, with two conditions – the [[retrial]] must be approved by the [[Director of Public Prosecutions]], and the [[Court of Appeal (England and Wales)|Court of Appeal]] must agree to quash the original acquittal because of new and compelling evidence.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/section19/chapter_j.html |title= Retrial of Serious Offences |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080915092707/http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/section19/chapter_j.html |archive-date= 15 September 2008 |publisher= [[Crown Prosecution Service]] |access-date=2 January 2012}}</ref>

On 27{{nbs}}July 2006, the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' repeated its "Murderers" front page. In July 2010, ''[[The Independent]]'' described the Lawrence killing – despite it having happened more than 17 years previously – as "one of the highest-profile unsolved racially motivated murders".<ref name="high profile" />

=== Cold case review and new evidence ===
{{Listen| filename = Angela Gallop - Life Scientific - 27 March 2012.flac |title = Forensic scientist Angela Gallop discusses fibres and blood found in the case |type = speech |description = from the BBC programme [[The Life Scientific]], 27 March 2012<ref name="BBC-b01dttz7">{{Cite episode |title= Angela Gallop |series= The Life Scientific |series-link= The Life Scientific |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01dttz7 |access-date= 18 January 2014 |station= BBC Radio 4 |date= 27 March 2012 }}</ref> }}

In June 2006, a [[cold case]] review commenced, involving a full re-examination of the forensic evidence.<ref name="cold case" /><ref name="BBC trial" /> Initially this was held in secrecy and not publicised;<ref name="Guardian forensics">{{cite news|last1=Dodd|first1=Vikram|last2=Hodgson|first2=Martin|title=Lawrence murder: new forensic clue|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lawrence/Story/0,,2207231,00.html|publisher=[[Guardian Online]]|date=8 September 2007|access-date=4 January 2008}}</ref> however, in November 2007, police confirmed they were investigating new scientific evidence.<ref name="Guardian forensics" /> The re-examination was led by forensic scientist [[Angela Gallop]].<ref name="Imogen">{{cite news|last=West-Knights|first=Imogen|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/mar/24/queen-of-crime-solving-angela-gallop-forensic-science|title=The queen of crime-solving|work=The Guardian|date=24 March 2022 |accessdate=25 March 2022}}</ref>

The most important of the new evidence comprised:<ref name="chan4 evidence">{{cite news|title=Lawrence murder trial: the forensic evidence|url=http://www.channel4.com/news/lawrence-murder-trial-the-forensic-evidence|access-date=5 January 2012|newspaper=Channel 4 News|date=3 January 2012}}</ref><ref name="bbc evidence">{{cite news|title=Stephen Lawrence murder: Dobson and Norris found guilty|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16257377|access-date=5 January 2012|newspaper=BBC News|date=3 January 2012}}</ref>

* A microscopic {{nowrap|(0.5{{tsp}}×{{tsp}}0.25 mm)}} stain of Lawrence's blood in Dobson's jacket.<ref name="new evidence">{{cite news|title=Stephen Lawrence murder: Tiny forensic evidence proved key|url=http://www.metro.co.uk/news/886302-stephen-lawrence-murder-tiny-forensic-evidence-proved-key|access-date=5 January 2012|newspaper=Metro|date=3 January 2012}}</ref> It had dried into the fibres and its tiny size implied this had happened very quickly. The forensic analysis concluded it had not been transferred there from elsewhere as dried blood, or perhaps later soaked into the fabric, but was deposited fresh, and would have dried almost immediately after being deposited due to its microscopic size.
* Fibres from Lawrence's clothing, and hairs with a 99.9% chance<ref name="dna">{{cite news|title=Stephen Lawrence murder: Dobson and Norris found guilty|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16257377|access-date=5 January 2012|newspaper=BBC News|date=3 January 2012|quote=A geneticist examined MtDNA databases and told the court the chance of it not coming from Stephen was one in 1,000}}</ref> of coming from Lawrence, found on Norris and Dobson's clothes from the time or in the evidence bag holding them.<ref name="dna"/><ref name="new evidence" />{{efn|At trial the defence tried to argue, albeit unsuccessfully, that these fibres and/or hairs were present due to contamination or lack of care of evidence.<ref name="chan4 evidence" />}}

The police unit manager involved in the matter commented that the new evidence was only found because of scientific developments and developments in forensic approaches that had taken place since 1996 which allowed microscopic blood stains and hair fragments to be [[DNA analysis|analysed for DNA]] and other microscopic evidence to be found and used forensically.<ref name="new evidence" />

=== 2011{{hsp}}–{{tsp}}2012 trial ===
Gary Dobson and David Norris were arrested and charged without publicity on 8 September 2010<ref name="BBC trial" /> and on 23{{nbs}}October 2010 the [[Director of Public Prosecutions]], [[Keir Starmer]] [[Queen's Counsel|QC]], applied to the [[Court of Appeal of England and Wales#Criminal Division|Court of Appeal]]  for Dobson's original acquittal to be quashed.<ref name="cps statement May 2011" /> Dobson was in prison at the time for [[drug dealing]]. Norris had not been previously acquitted, so no application was necessary in his case. For legal reasons, to protect the investigation and ensure a fair hearing, [[Publication ban|reporting restriction]]s were put in place at the commencement of these proceedings; the arrests and subsequent developments were not publicly reported at the time.<ref name="cps statement May 2011" />

Dobson's acquittal was quashed following a two-day hearing on 11 and 12{{nbs}}April 2011, enabling his retrial.<ref name="quash ruling">{{cite web|title=R. v. Dobson, <nowiki>[2011]</nowiki> EWCA Crim 1256|url=http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/2011/1256.html|access-date=5 January 2012}}</ref> On 18{{nbs}}May 2011, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment and the reporting restrictions were partially lifted.<ref name="cps statement May 2011" />  It was announced by the [[Crown Prosecution Service]] that the two would face trial for Lawrence's murder in light of "new and substantial evidence".<ref name="BBC trial" />  The judgment of the court stated that "[i]f reliable, the new scientific evidence would place Dobson in very close proximity indeed to Stephen Lawrence at the moment of and in the immediate aftermath of the attack, proximity, moreover, for which no innocent explanation can be discerned".<ref name="quash ruling" />  The ruling also emphasised that this was to be "a new trial of a defendant who, we repeat, is presumed in law to be innocent," and suggested a cautious and fact-based reporting style to avoid [[contempt of court]] or risk of prejudice to the future trial.<ref name="quash ruling" />

A [[Juries in England and Wales|jury]] was [[Juries in England and Wales#Empanelling and challenging jurors|selected]] on 14{{nbs}}November 2011,<ref name="BBC jury">{{cite news|author=BBC News|title=Lawrence trial: Not jury's job to right racism – defence|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16302993|access-date=3 January 2012|newspaper=BBC News|date=22 December 2011}}</ref> and the trial, presided over by [[Colman Treacy|Mr Justice Treacy]], began the next day at the Central Criminal Court.<ref name="BBC evidence">{{cite news|author=BBC News|title=Stephen Lawrence: New evidence to be 'centre stage'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15716320|work=BBC News|date=14 November 2011| access-date=14 November 2011}}</ref><ref name="BBC DNA">{{cite news|author=BBC News|title=Stephen Lawrence DNA 'found on defendants' clothes'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15735026|work=BBC News|date=15 November 2011|access-date=16 November 2011}}</ref>  With the prosecution led by [[Mark Ellison|Mark Ellison QC]], the case centred on the new forensic evidence and whether it demonstrated the defendant's involvement in the murder, or was the result of later contamination due to police handling.<ref name="chan4 evidence" /><ref name="bbc evidence" />  The spot of blood was so small that it would have dried almost instantly, leading to the conclusion that it was transferred at the crime scene.  On 3 January 2012, after the jury had deliberated for just over 8 hours,<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jan/03/justice-for-stephen-lawrence | title=Stephen Lawrence verdict delivers justice after 18-year wait | website=[[TheGuardian.com]] | date=3 January 2012 }}</ref> Dobson and Norris were found guilty of Lawrence's murder.<ref name="Dodd Laville 2012" /> The two were sentenced on 4 January 2012 to [[At Her Majesty's pleasure#Incarceration|detention at Her Majesty's Pleasure]], equivalent to a [[life sentence]] for an adult,<ref name="sentencing remarks" /> with minimum terms of 15 years and 2 months for Dobson and 14 years and 3 months for Norris.<ref name="irishexaminer"/><ref name="BBC Guilty">{{cite news|author=BBC News|title=Stephen Lawrence murder: Dobson and Norris found guilty|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16347953|access-date=3 January 2012|newspaper=BBC News|date=3 January 2012}}</ref> Time spent on remand by Dobson was not deducted from his minimum term to ensure his existing sentence for drug-related offences was served.<ref name="sentencing remarks" /> The judge's sentencing remarks were later published in full online.<ref name="sentencing remarks" />

The judge stated that the sentences reflected that Dobson and Norris were [[minor (law)|juveniles]] (Dobson 17, and Norris 16)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8991251/Stephen-Lawrence-murder-Gary-Dobson-and-David-Norris-face-reduced-sentences.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8991251/Stephen-Lawrence-murder-Gary-Dobson-and-David-Norris-face-reduced-sentences.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Stephen Lawrence murder: Gary Dobson and David Norris face reduced sentences|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|first1=Mark|last1=Hughes|first2=Martin|last2=Evans|first3=Victoria|last3=Ward|date=4 January 2012|access-date=20 February 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> at the time of the offence, which took place before the [[Criminal Justice Act 2003]]; the starting point for the minimum term was therefore 12 years. The judge acknowledged this was "lower than some might expect".<ref name="sentencing remarks" /><ref name="guardian juveniles">{{cite news|last=Wagner|first=Adam|title=Why Stephen Lawrence's killers were sentenced as juveniles|url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2012/jan/04/stephen-lawrence-killers-sentenced-juveniles|access-date=4 January 2012|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=4 January 2012}} – article explaining sentencing considerations where the crime took place many years previously.</ref> A similar crime committed in 2011 as an adult would have justified a minimum sentence of 30 years.<ref name="sentencing remarks" /><ref name="cps_guide">{{cite web|title=CPS sentencing manual: Murder: Sentencing Legislation and Guidelines (24 February 2010 edition, current at 5 January 2012)|url=http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/sentencing_manual/murder/|publisher=[[Crown Prosecution Service]]|access-date=5 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230063710/http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/sentencing_manual/murder/|archive-date=30 December 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{efn|This is occasionally misreported as 25 years, the starting point for "bringing and using a weapon";<ref name="cps_guide" /><ref name="Laville sentencing">{{cite news|last=Laville|first=Sandra|title=Stephen Lawrence murder: Gary Dobson and David Norris await sentencing|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jan/04/stephen-lawrence-murder-sentencing|access-date=4 January 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=4 January 2012}}</ref> murder with racial motive incurs a higher 30-year starting point.<ref name="cps_guide" />}}

=== Immediate aftermath of trial ===
Following the 2012 convictions, [[Paul Dacre]], ''Daily Mail'' [[newspaper editor|editor]] since 1992, issued a comment on his 1997 headline decision.<ref>{{cite news|last=Halliday|first=Josh|title=Stephen Lawrence front page 'was a monumental risk' says Daily Mail editor|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jan/03/stephen-lawrence-daily-mail-paul-dacre|access-date=4 January 2012|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=4 January 2012}}</ref>
{{blockquote|I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that if it hadn't been for the ''Mail''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s headline in 1997 —'Murderers: The Mail accuses these men of killing'—and our years of campaigning, none of this would have happened. Britain's police might not have undergone the huge internal reform that was so necessary. Race relations might not have taken the significant step forward that they have.  And an 18-year-old A-Level student who dreamed of being an architect would have been denied justice. The ''Daily Mail'' took a monumental risk with that headline. In many ways, it was an outrageous, unprecedented step.}}

Writing in the February 2012 edition of the ''[[Socialist Review]]'', Brian Richardson suggested that Dacre was overselling his involvement in what had finally been achieved, stating:<ref>{{cite news|last=Richardson|first=Brian|title=It wasn't the Daily Mail wot won it! |url=http://socialistreview.org.uk/366/it-wasnt-daily-mail-wot-won-it|access-date=26 April 2018|newspaper=[[Socialist Review]]|date=February 2012}}</ref>
{{blockquote|It is ... disingenuous of Dacre to claim that the Stephen Lawrence Family Campaign would have petered out if his paper had not ridden heroically to its rescue. The "Murderers" story appeared in February 1997, almost four years after Stephen was killed. For much of the intervening period the mainstream press, including the ''Daily Mail'', were openly hostile and suspicious of a family that so vocally criticised the police.}}

===Appeals===
On 5 January 2012, it was reported that the [[Attorney General for England and Wales|Attorney General]] was reviewing the minimum terms at the request of a member of the public, to determine whether he believed them to be [[unduly lenient sentence|"unduly lenient"]], and if so whether to apply to the Court of Appeal for an increase in the minimum terms.<ref name="leniency">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16430633 |title=Stephen Lawrence: Attorney General to review sentences |work=BBC News |date=5 January 2012|access-date=6 January 2012}}</ref> Juvenile minimum life sentences in a 2000 review (i.e. before the 2003 act passed into law) varied from a "most common" minimum of 10 years to a maximum of 20, placing Dobson and Norris in the middle of that range.<ref name="leniency" /> On 1 February 2012, the Attorney General announced that he would not be referring the sentences to the Court of Appeal, as he believed that "the minimum terms [were] ... within the appropriate range of sentences".<ref>{{cite news|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16840950|title=Stephen Lawrence killers' sentences will not be reviewed|date=1 February 2012|access-date=1 February 2012}}</ref>

On 30{{nbs}}January 2012, it emerged that Norris and Dobson were seeking leave from the Court of Appeal to appeal against their convictions.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

On 23{{nbs}}August 2012, it was reported that Norris and Dobson had lost the first round of their appeal.<ref>{{cite news|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19352974|title=Lawrence murder pair lose appeal|date=23 August 2012|access-date=23 August 2012}}</ref> On 15{{nbs}}March 2013, it was announced that Dobson had dropped his appeal against his murder conviction.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9933116/Gary-Dobson-drops-Stephen-Lawrence-murder-appeal.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9933116/Gary-Dobson-drops-Stephen-Lawrence-murder-appeal.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Gary Dobson drops Stephen Lawrence murder appeal|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=15 March 2013|access-date=16 March 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref>  Shortly after Norris was denied leave to appeal.{{Cn|date=August 2024}}

On 18{{nbs}}May 2022, it was reported that David Norris's request to be moved to an open prison in advance of his possible release was denied.{{cn|date=June 2023}}

===Further developments===
In 2016 police released an enhanced image from a CCTV camera, showing the face of a witness they have not been able to identify.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/08/stephen-lawrence-new-images-of-potential-witness-released | title=Stephen Lawrence: New images of potential witness released | newspaper=The Guardian | date=8 August 2016 | last1=Grierson | first1=Jamie | last2=Dodd | first2=Vikram }}</ref>

In March 2025, David Norris admitted for the first time that he had been involved in the murder and that he had punched Lawrence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/20/one-of-stephen-lawrences-killers-reportedly-now-admits-he-was-involved|title=One of Stephen Lawrence’s killers reportedly now admits he was involved|first=P. A.|last=Media|date=20 March 2025|via=The Guardian}}</ref> In October he said he is "deeply sorry" to Lawrence's family for his part in the murder, but insisted that he could not name his accomplices.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/stephen-lawrence-killer-david-norris-parole-b2840760.html|title=Stephen Lawrence’s killer apologises but explains why he won’t name accomplices|date=7 October 2025|website=The Independent}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/david-norris-one-of-stephen-lawrences-killers-begs-for-familys-forgiveness-as-he-tells-of-role-in-murder-13446378|title=David Norris, one of Stephen Lawrence's killers, begs for family's forgiveness as he tells of role in murder|website=Sky News}}</ref>

== Other inquiries and investigations ==
=== Macpherson Inquiry ===
On 31{{nbs}}July 1997, the [[home secretary]], [[Jack Straw]], ordered a [[public inquiry]], to be conducted by [[William Macpherson (judge)|Sir William Macpherson]] and officially titled "The Inquiry Into The Matters Arising From The Death of Stephen Lawrence", and published as ''The Macpherson report''.<ref name="inquiry letter">{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-stephen-lawrence-inquiry |title=The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry|website = GOV.UK|date =24 February 1999}}</ref> Its report, produced in February 1999, estimated that it had taken "more than 100,000 pages of reports, statements, and other written or printed documents"<ref name="inquiry letter"/> and concluded that the original Metropolitan Police Service investigation had been incompetent and that officers had committed fundamental errors, including failing to give [[first aid]] when they reached the scene, failing to follow obvious leads during their investigation, and failing to arrest suspects. The report found that there had been a failure of leadership by senior MPS officers and that recommendations of the 1981 [[Scarman Report]], compiled following [[1981 England riots|race-related riots]] in [[Brixton]] and [[Toxteth]], had been ignored.<ref name="Lawrence Inquiry" />

Detective Superintendent Brian Weeden said during the inquiry that mistakes had been made in the murder investigation, including his own ignorance that he could have arrested the suspects four days after the killing simply on [[reasonable suspicion]], a basic point of criminal law.<ref name="Guardian-1998" /><ref name="BBC timeline"/>

The report also found that the Metropolitan Police was [[institutional racism|institutionally racist]]. A total of 70 recommendations for reform, covering both policing and criminal law, were made. These proposals included abolishing the [[double jeopardy]] rule and criminalising racist statements made in private. Macpherson also called for reform in the [[British Civil Service]], local governments, the [[National Health Service (England)|National Health Service]], schools, and the judicial system, to address issues of institutional racism.<ref name="Holdaway O'Neill 2006">{{cite journal|last1=Holdaway|first1=Simon|last2=O'Neill|first2=Megan|title=Institutional Racism after Macpherson: An Analysis of Police Views|journal=Policing and Society|volume=16|issue=4|pages=349–369|year=2006|doi=10.1080/10439460600967885|s2cid=144220583}}</ref>

The report was criticised in an October 2000 article in ''[[The Times]]'' by [[Michael Gove]] (later an MP and cabinet minister), who wrote, "The tendentious reasoning and illiberal recommendations of that document have been brilliantly anatomised by the ethical socialists [[Norman Dennis]] and George Erdos and the Kurdish academic Ahmed al-Shahi in the [[Civitas (think tank)|Civitas]] pamphlet ''Racist Murder and Pressure Group Politics''."<ref name="Gove 2000">{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Gove|author-link=Michael Gove|title=Be politically astute, not politically correct|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/be-politically-astute-not-politically-correct-gqpt762l75m|work=[[The Times]] |location=UK|date=10 October 2000|access-date=2 May 2010}}</ref> The pamphlet referred to by Gove is a publication by the think tank Civitas, which criticised the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, its procedures, its findings and its reception, as well as broadly exploring what it called "The fanatical mindset... of the militant anti-racist" with references to [[Malcolm X]] among others.{{cn|date=June 2023}}{{clarification needed|date=September 2024}}

The government gave the cost of the inquiry as £4.2 million, of which £3.5 million was paid by the Metropolitan Police.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stephen-lawrence-madeleine-mccann-and-hillsborough-stadium-investigation-costs/stephen-lawrence-madeleine-mccann-and-hillsborough-stadium-investigation-costs#:~:text=The%20murder%20of%20Stephen%20Lawrence,-In%20July%201997&text=The%20total%20cost%20of%20the,from%20the%20Metropolitan%20Police%20Fund | title=Stephen Lawrence, Madeleine McCann, and Hillsborough stadium investigation costs }}</ref>

===Public complaints about mishandling of case===
In 1997, Lawrence's family registered a formal complaint with the [[Police Complaints Authority (United Kingdom)|Police Complaints Authority]] (PCA), which in 1999 exonerated the officers who had worked on the case of allegations of racism.  Only one officer, Detective Inspector Ben Bullock, was ordered to face disciplinary charges for neglect of duty. Bullock, who was second in command of the investigation, was later found guilty of failure to properly brief officers and failure to fully investigate an anonymous letter sent to police, but he was acquitted of 11 other charges. Four other officers who would have been charged as a result of the inquiry retired before it concluded.

Bullock retired the day after his punishment was announced, so that it amounted to a caution.  Neville Lawrence, Stephen's father, criticised the punishment, saying that Bullock was "guilty on all counts."  However, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Federation stated that Bullock had been "largely vindicated" in the proceedings.<ref name="BBC whitewash">{{cite news|author=BBC News|title=Lawrence hearing a "whitewash"|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/393790.stm|work=BBC News|date=13 July 1999|access-date=4 January 2008}}</ref>

On 10 March 2006, the [[Metropolitan Police Service]] announced that it would pay Duwayne Brooks £100,000 as compensation for how police handled his complaints about their actions toward him after the murder, characterized as "racist stereotyping" of him as a hostile young black man, according to a statement from Brooks' solicitors firm.<ref name="BBC sue">{{cite news|title=Lawrence friend sues police|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/428210.stm|work=BBC News|date=23 August 1999|access-date=4 January 2008}}</ref><ref name="BBC payout">{{cite news|title=Police payout for Lawrence friend|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4793426.stm|work=BBC News|date=10 March 2006|access-date=4 January 2008}}</ref>

=== Concerns and inquiries of alleged police corruption and undercover officer conduct ===
==== Investigation into police corruption (2006) ====
On 25{{nbs}}July 2006, the [[Independent Police Complaints Commission]] (IPCC) announced that it had asked the Metropolitan Police to look into alleged claims of police corruption that may have helped hide the killers of Lawrence.

A [[BBC]] investigation alleged that the murder inquiry's Det. Sgt. John Davidson had taken money from known drug smuggler Clifford Norris, the father of David Norris, a chief suspect in the investigation.<ref name="BBC corruption">{{cite news|author=BBC News|title=Lawrence case 'corruption' probe|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5214644.stm|work=BBC News|date=26 July 2006|access-date=4 January 2008}}</ref> Neil Putnam, a former corrupt police detective turned [[whistleblower]], told a BBC investigation that Clifford Norris was paying Davidson to obstruct the case and to protect the suspects. "Davidson told me that he was looking after Norris and that to me meant that he was protecting him, protecting his family against arrest and any conviction," Putnam said.<ref name="BBC corruption"/> Davidson denied any such corruption.

The [[Metropolitan Police Service]] announced that it was to open up a special incident room to field calls from the public, following the BBC documentary ''The Boys Who Killed Stephen Lawrence''. The [[Independent Police Complaints Commission]] later stated that the claims made in the programme were unfounded.<ref name="BBC nocorruption">{{cite news|title='No corruption' in Lawrence case|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7043064.stm|work=BBC News|date=13 November 2007|access-date=4 January 2008}}</ref>
{{blockquote|The need to re-establish trust between minority ethnic communities and the police is paramount... seeking to achieve trust and confidence through a demonstration of fairness will not in itself be sufficient. It must be accompanied by a vigorous pursuit of openness and accountability.<ref name="Macpherson C46">{{cite web|last=Macpherson|first=William|title=THE MURDER OF STEPHEN LAWRENCE, Chapter 46|publisher=Official Documents Archive|url=http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm42/4262/sli-46.htm|date=24 February 1999|access-date=4 January 2012}}</ref><ref name="Raghavan misconduct">{{cite web|last=Raghavan|first=R.K.|title=Dealing with police misconduct|url=http://www.flonnet.com/fl2103/stories/20040213004411900.htm|publisher=Frontline|year=2004|access-date=4 January 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927205459/http://www.flonnet.com/fl2103/stories/20040213004411900.htm|archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref>|Sir William Macpherson|Macpherson Report}}

On 17{{nbs}}December 2009, Independent Police Complaints Commission investigators and officers from the Metropolitan Police's directorate of professional standards arrested a former police constable and a serving member of Metropolitan Police staff on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice by allegedly withholding evidence from the original murder inquiry, the Kent investigation and the Macpherson inquiry. Dr Richard Stone, who sat on the Macpherson inquiry, commented that the panel had felt that there was "a large amount of information that the police were either not processing or were suppressing" and "a strong smell of corruption". [[Baroness Ros Howells]], patron of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, agreed: "Lots of people said they gave the police evidence which was never produced."<ref name="Laville withheld">{{cite news|last1=Laville|first1=Sandra|last2=Muir|first2=Hugh|title=Stephen Lawrence case pair arrested over evidence 'withheld' since murder|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/dec/18/stephen-lawrence-case-evidence-withheld|work=The Guardian |location=UK|date=18 December 2009|access-date=2 May 2010}}</ref> On 1{{nbs}}March 2010 the IPCC announced that "No further action will be taken against the two men arrested following concerns identified by the internal Metropolitan police service (MPS) review of the murder of Stephen Lawrence" and the two were released from [[bail]].<ref name="Davies hidden evidence">{{cite news|last=Davies|first=Caroline|title=No action over 'hidden evidence' claims in Stephen Lawrence murder case|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/mar/01/stephen-lawrence-hidden-evidence-claim|work=The Guardian |location=UK|date=1 March 2010|access-date=10 January 2011}}</ref>

On 6{{nbs}}July 2023, the CPS decided that the four retired detectives who ran the original case would not face criminal charges for alleged corruption.<ref>{{cite news |title= Stephen Lawrence case: Retired detectives will not face prosecution over inquiry |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66118651 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> The mother of Stephen Lawrence said she wanted to see a review of the decision.<ref>{{cite news |title= Stephen Lawrence case: Disgrace that detectives will not be charged - mother |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66127025 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>

====Revelations about undercover police conduct (2013)====
On 23{{nbs}}June 2013, an interview with Peter Francis, a former [[Special Demonstration Squad]] undercover police officer, was published in ''[[The Guardian]]''. In the interview Francis stated that while he was working undercover within an anti-racist campaign group in the mid-1990s, he was constantly pressured by superiors to smear Lawrence's family so as to end campaigns for a better investigation into Lawrence's death.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stephen Lawrence family and friends targeted by police 'smear' campaign|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/jun/23/stephen-lawrence-undercover-police-smears|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=23 June 2013|first1=Rob|last1=Evans|first2=Paul|last2=Lewis|author-link2=Paul Lewis (journalist)|access-date=23 June 2013}}</ref> After the allegation, the home secretary, [[Theresa May]] pledged to be "ruthless about purging corruption from the police", and the prime minister, [[David Cameron]], ordered police to investigate the allegations, saying that he was "deeply worried about the reports".<ref>{{cite news|last=Mason|first=Rowena|title=Home Secretary pledges to 'purge corruption' from police after Stephen Lawrence family smear allegations|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10139347/Home-Secretary-pledges-to-purge-corruption-from-police-after-Stephen-Lawrence-family-smear-allegations.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10139347/Home-Secretary-pledges-to-purge-corruption-from-police-after-Stephen-Lawrence-family-smear-allegations.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=25 June 2013|date=24 June 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

[[Chief Constable]] Mick Creedon, who is leading Operation Herne, an ongoing inquiry into Metropolitan Police [[undercover operation]]s against [[protest group]]s, said he would investigate the allegations as part of the inquiry.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/jun/24/undercover-officers-police-chief-met|title=Dozens of undercover officers could face prosecution, says police chief|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=24 June 2013|first1=Paul|last1=Lewis | author-link = Paul Lewis (journalist)|first2=Rob|last2=Evans|access-date=25 June 2013}}</ref> In October 2015 an inquiry was set up by the [[National Crime Agency]] to investigate allegations that members of the police force shielded the alleged killers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/16/stephen-lawrence-inquiry-hunts-police-alleged-to-have-shielded-killers|title=Stephen Lawrence: new criminal inquiry into claims police shielded killers|work=The Guardian|date=16 October 2015|first=Vikram|last=Dodd|access-date=16 October 2015}}</ref>{{needs update|date=June 2023}}

====The Stephen Lawrence Independent Review (2014)====
Following the 2012 convictions of Dobson and Norris, further inquiries by both [[Scotland Yard]] and the [[Independent Police Complaints Commission]] ruled that there was no new evidence to warrant further investigation.  After discussions with Doreen Lawrence, the home secretary Theresa May commissioned [[Mark Ellison]] QC (who had prosecuted Dobson and Norris) to review Scotland Yard's investigations into alleged police corruption.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/lawrence-murder-police-corruption-will-be-investigated-7811117.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/lawrence-murder-police-corruption-will-be-investigated-7811117.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=May defies Met to order inquiry after Independent campaign|author=Andrew Grice & Paul Peachey|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=2 June 2012|access-date=7 March 2014}}</ref>

The report, titled "The Stephen Lawrence Independent Review",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stephen-lawrence-independent-review|title=Stephen Lawrence independent review|publisher=Government of the United Kingdom|date=6 March 2014|access-date=7 March 2014}}</ref> was presented to [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] on 6{{nbs}}March 2014. [[Bernard Hogan-Howe|Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe]], [[Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police]] said the report, which prompted an [[Undercover Policing Inquiry|inquiry into undercover policing]], was "devastating".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26485664|title=Hogan-Howe vows to restore trust in Met after new Lawrence row|work=[[BBC News]]|date=7 March 2014|access-date=7 March 2014}}</ref> Ellison's report also found there were possible links between an alleged corrupt police officer and the murder of private investigator [[Daniel Morgan (private investigator)|Daniel Morgan]] in 1987.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-wales-26491279|title=Daniel Morgan murder case 'corruption link' with Lawrence investigation|work=[[BBC Wales]]|date=7 March 2014|access-date=7 March 2014}}</ref>

== Legacy and recognition ==
[[File:Floral Tributes to Stephen Lawrence in Eltham in 2023 (01).jpg|thumb|right|Floral tributes marking the 30th anniversary of Lawrence's murder in 2023; these have been placed around the memorial plaque to Lawrence in Well Hall Road, Eltham]]
An annual architectural award, the Stephen Lawrence Prize, was established in 1998 by the [[Marco Goldschmied]] Foundation in association with the [[Royal Institute of British Architects]] in Lawrence's memory.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How the Stephen Lawrence Prize was founded|url=https://stephenlawrenceprize.com/about/|access-date=5 March 2021|website=The Stephen Lawrence Prize|language=en-US}}</ref>

His mother, [[Doreen Lawrence]], said, "I would like Stephen to be remembered as a young man who had a future. He was well loved, and had he been given the chance to survive maybe he would have been the one to bridge the gap between black and white because he didn't distinguish between black or white. He saw people as people."<ref name="BBC Guilty" />

In 1995 a memorial plaque was set into the pavement at the spot where he was killed on Well Hall Road. The plaque has been vandalised several times since then.<ref name="Plaque vandalism">{{cite web|title=Smashed glass bottle on Stephen Lawrence plaque in Eltham |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-15153119|publisher=BBC|date=3 October 2011|access-date=7 June 2013}}</ref>

In 1999, [[Nicolas Kent]] designed a documentary play based on the trial, called ''The Colour of Justice''. It was staged at the [[Tricycle Theatre]] and was later filmed by the BBC.<ref name="IMDB CoJ">{{cite web|author=IMDB|title=The Colour of Justice|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190313/|publisher=IMDB|access-date=3 January 2012}}</ref> It was also performed at the [[Guildford School of Acting]] for the 20th anniversary of the murder.

[[Peter Ackroyd]], in his 2000 book ''[[London: The Biography]]'', places the murder in the context of a historical pattern of "police incompetence and corruption ... as old as the police force itself," and that the investigation "revealed many instances of bad judgement and mismanagement; it also suggested implicit racial prejudice within the police force which has indeed been bedevilled [sic.] by that charge for fifty years."<ref>{{cite book|first=Peter |last=Ackroyd|year=2000|publisher=Chatto & Windus|isbn= 978-0385497701 |pages=281-282}}</ref>

On 7{{nbs}}February 2008, the Stephen Lawrence Centre, designed by architect [[David Adjaye]], opened in [[Deptford]], south-east London.<ref name="BBC building">{{cite news|author=BBC News|title=Stephen Lawrence building opens|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7230503.stm|work=BBC News|date=7 February 2008|access-date=4 June 2010}}</ref> A week later, it was vandalised in an attack that was initially believed to be racially motivated. However, doubt was cast on that assumption when CCTV evidence appeared to show one of the suspects to be [[Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category)|mixed-race]].<ref name="London vandalism">{{cite web|author=This Is Local London|title=Lawrence centre vandalism suspects |url=http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/search/display.var.2048400.0.lawrence_centre_vandalism_suspects/|publisher=thisislocallondon|date=15 February 2008|access-date=4 June 2010}}</ref>

The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust is a national educational charity committed to the advancement of [[social justice]]. The Trust provides educational and employability workshops and mentoring schemes. It also awards architectural and landscape bursaries.<ref name="Lawrence Trust">{{cite web|author=Stephen Lawrence trust|title=The Trust|url=http://www.stephenlawrence.org.uk/the-trust/|publisher=Stephen Lawrence Trust|access-date=9 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427045308/http://stephenlawrence.org.uk/the-trust/|archive-date=27 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2008 the Trust, with architects [[RMJM]], created the initiative [[Architecture for Everyone]] to help promote architecture and the [[creative industries]] to young people from ethnic minorities.<ref name="Styart 2008">{{cite news|last=Stuart|first=Dan|title=Gordon Brown lends support to architecture campaign|url=http://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/gordon-brown-lends-support-to-architecture-campaign/3129538.article|newspaper=Building Design|date=9 December 2008|access-date=14 November 2011}}</ref>

In October 2012, Doreen Lawrence received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the [[14th Pride of Britain Awards]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.itv.com/news/london/2012-10-30/doreen-lawrence-honoured/|title=Doreen Lawrence honoured|publisher=[[ITV News]]|date=30 October 2012|access-date=31 October 2012}}</ref>

Doreen Lawrence was elevated to the [[peerage]] as a [[Baroness]] on 6{{nbs}}September 2013, and is formally styled ''Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, of [[Clarendon Parish, Jamaica|Clarendon]] in the [[Commonwealth Realm]] of [[Jamaica]]'';<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=60624 |date=11 September 2013 |page=17949}}</ref> the honour is rare for being [[territorial designation|designated]] after a location in a Commonwealth realm outside the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|author=Siva, Vivienne|url=http://jis.gov.jm/jamaican-born-civil-rights-campaigner-appointed-british-house-lords/ |title=Jamaican Born Civil Rights Campaigner Appointed to British House of Lords|date=25 October 2013|publisher=Jamaican Information Service}}</ref> She sits on the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] benches in the House of Lords as a working peer specialising in race and diversity.<ref>{{cite web|date = 1 August 2013|url = https://www.gov.uk/government/news/working-peerages-announced |title = Working peerages announced|website = Gov.uk}}</ref>

On 23{{nbs}}April 2018, at a memorial service to mark the 25th anniversary of his death, Prime Minister [[Theresa May]] announced that "Stephen Lawrence Day" would be an annual national commemoration of his death on 22{{nbs}}April every year starting in 2019. Doreen Lawrence made a statement that Stephen Lawrence Day would be "an opportunity for young people to use their voices and should be embedded in our education and wider system regardless of the government of the day".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43869377|title=Stephen Lawrence Day to be held annually|work=BBC News|date=23 April 2018|access-date=23 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Stephen Lawrence Day to be created in tribute to murdered teenager | url = https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/apr/23/prince-harry-and-meghan-attend-stephen-lawrence-memorial-service | work= The Guardian | date = 23 April 2018 | access-date = 23 April 2018 }}</ref>

Part of the [[University of Reading]]'s Student Union building was named after Stephen  Lawrence in 1993, before being refurbished and renamed the ‘Stephen Lawrence Media Centre’ in 2013.<ref>{{cite news | title = Student media has new home on campus in Stephen Lawrence Centre | url = https://www.reading.ac.uk/news-archive/press-releases/pr539758.html | work= University of Reading | access-date = 22 January 2022 }}</ref>

A Stephen Lawrence Research Centre was built at [[De Montfort University]], located inside the Hugh Aston building. Lawrence's mother was appointed chancellor of the university in January 2016.<ref>{{cite news | title = Stephen Lawrence Research Centre | url = https://www.dmu.ac.uk/research/centres-institutes/stephen-lawrence-research-centre/index.aspx | work= De Montfort University | access-date = 14 April 2019 }}</ref> The centre hosted a series of special events for the 30th anniversary of Stephen's murder in April 2023.<ref>{{cite web |title=DMU announces plans for remembering Stephen Lawrence 30 years on |url=https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/news/2022/november/dmu-announces-plans-for-remembering-stephen-lawrence-30-years-on.aspx |website=De Montfort University |access-date=9 November 2022}}</ref>{{needs update|date=June 2023}}

==In the media==
The case and its immediate aftermath were dramatised in the 1999 [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]] film ''[[The Murder of Stephen Lawrence]]'', starring [[Marianne Jean-Baptiste]] and [[Hugh Quarshie]] as Doreen and Neville Lawrence. A three-part sequel series, entitled [[Stephen (TV series)|''Stephen'']], was broadcast in 2021. Quarshie reprised his role as Neville, alongside [[Sharlene Whyte]] as Doreen, and [[Steve Coogan]] as DCI Clive Driscoll.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/aug/30/stephen-review-steve-coogan-leads-the-quest-for-justice-in-lawrence-case|title=Stephen review – Steve Coogan is the cop who cracks the Lawrence case after 13 years of lies|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=30 August 2021|first=Lucy|last=Mangan|access-date=31 August 2021}}</ref>

''Daily Mail'' journalist Stephen Wright has written about the Lawrence case, both before and subsequent to the prosecution. He received a Special Campaign Award as part of the 2012 [[Paul Foot Award]] for his work in the Lawrence case.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.private-eye.co.uk/paul_foot.php |title=The Paul Foot Award|publisher=[[Private Eye]]|access-date=23 March 2013}}
</ref>

Novelist [[Deborah Crombie]] uses the turmoil following the Stephen Lawrence murder as a flashback setting in her 2017 book, ''The Garden of Lamentations''. The story's characters include police officers who were undercover on both sides of the protests, as well as widespread corruption for years afterward. Crombie explains in the author's note at the end of the book that Stephen Lawrence was a real person who was murdered but specifies that the rest of the characters are fictional.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Crombie |first=Deborah |title=Garden of Lamentations |publisher=NYLA |year=2016 |isbn=9781641970105 |edition=Ebook |location=New York |pages=}}</ref>

Lawrence's murder was the subject of the three-part documentary miniseries ''Stephen: The Murder That Changed a Nation'' that was first broadcast on [[BBC One]] in April 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/apr/17/stephen-the-that-changed-a-nation-review-grimly-relevant-after-25-years|title=Stephen: The Murder That Changed a Nation review|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=24 April 2018|first=Sam|last=Wollaston|access-date=25 June 2020}}</ref>  Following the BBC broadcast, the Metropolitan Police publicly named Matthew White as the sixth suspect on 26{{nbs}}June 2023.  White had died in 2021 at the age of 50.<ref>{{cite news |title= Met Police name new suspect in Stephen Lawrence murder |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/stephen-lawrence-murder-new-suspect-named-matthew-white-met-police-b1090105.html |work= Evening Standard}}</ref>

The murder is referenced in the song "We Live Here" by English punk duo [[Bob Vylan]].{{cn|date=October 2025}}

==See also==
{{Portal|London|Law}}
{{div col}}
* {{anl|1993 Welling riots}}
* [[Death of Paula Hounslea]] – Still-unsolved UK case in which the alleged killers similarly refused to answer questions at the inquest
* {{anl|Murder of Anthony Walker}}
* {{anl|Murder of Kelso Cochrane}}
* {{anl|Murder of Kriss Donald}}
* {{anl|Murder of Richard Everitt}}
* {{anl|Murder of Ross Parker}}
* [[Race and crime in the United Kingdom]]
{{div col end}}
{{Clear}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* [[Frank Ellis (lecturer)|Ellis, Dr. Frank]], ''The Macpherson Report: 'Anti-racist' Hysteria and the Sovietization of the United Kingdom'', published by Right Now Press Ltd., London, 2001 (P/B), {{ISBN|978-0-9540534-0-6}}
* Green, David G, (Editor), ''Institutional Racism and the Police: Fact or Fiction'', published by [[The Institute for the Study of Civil Society]], 2000, {{ISBN|978-1-903386-06-4}}
* Dennis, Norman;  Erdos, George; Al-Shahi, Ahmed; ''Racist Murder and Pressure Group Politics: The Macpherson Report and the Police'', published by The Institute for the Study of Civil Society, 2000, {{ISBN|978-1-903386-05-7}}
* [[Cathcart, Brian]]; ''The Case of Stephen Lawrence'' published by Penguin {{ISBN|978-0-14-027905-4}}

==Further reading==
* [http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm42/4262/4262.htm Stephen Lawrence Inquiry (Macpherson Report)]
* [http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/2013/712.html Refusal of leave for Norris to appeal]
* [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stephen-lawrence-independent-review Ellis review]

==External links==
* [https://www.stephenlawrenceday.org/ Stephen Lawrence website]
* [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-life-and-legacy-of-stephen-lawrence-6286671.html "The life and legacy of Stephen Lawrence"], ''[[The Independent]]'', 8 January 2012.

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}

{{Murders in the United Kingdom in the 1990s}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Stephen}}
[[Category:1974 births]]
[[Category:1993 deaths]]
[[Category:1990s murders in London]]
[[Category:1993 murders in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1993 in London]]
[[Category:Anti-black racism in England]]
[[Category:Deaths by person in London]]
[[Category:Deaths by stabbing in London]]
[[Category:Hate crimes in Europe]]
[[Category:Crime in the Royal Borough of Greenwich]]
[[Category:History of the Royal Borough of Greenwich]]
[[Category:Murder in London]]
[[Category:Racially motivated violence against black people in Europe]]
[[Category:Racially motivated violence in England]]
[[Category:Murder committed by minors]]
[[Category:Incidents of violence against boys]]
[[Category:Police misconduct in England]]
[[Category:April 1993 in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Eltham]]
[[Category:Black British history]]
[[Category:Keir Starmer controversies]]