Father of Stephen Lawrence forgives his son’s murderers
Christian faith leads Neville Lawrence to ‘the hardest decision I will make in my lifetime’
THE FATHER of Stephen Lawrence has finally forgiven his son’s racist murderers, almost 25 years on from the notorious killing.
Neville Lawrence, 76, said the decision was the hardest he had ever made, and that he struggled to put into words the devastation caused to his family when his son was killed.
It emerged yesterday that four retired Scotland Yard detectives who worked on the disastrous inquiry into Stephen’s death could face criminal charges. Stephen, 18, was murdered by a gang of racists in Eltham, south-east London, on April 22 1993.
Mr Lawrence said: “The fact that I had to lose my first child has been devastating. I can’t begin to explain the pain and the anguish me and my family have suffered over the past 25 years.”
He said the decision to forgive Stephen’s killers would “be the hardest I will ever make in my lifetime”, but that he was embracing his Christian faith.
Two of the group of thugs who attacked the teenager and his friend, Duwayne Brooks, were convicted of murder in 2012, but the rest have evaded justice. David Norris and Gary Dobson are both serving life sentences.
Parts of the UK, particularly London, have seen a surge in violent crime in recent months, with nearly 60 murders in the capital so far this year.
Mr Lawrence, who speaks to young people about the consequences of carrying a weapon, said: “Right now with the violence, and the knife crime violence, it is urgent that I talk to these youngsters and explain to them the pain and suffering they inflict on families. It is a life sentence and something that will never be served. I’ve been serving a life sentence for the last 25 years and I will go on serving that until the day I die.”
The former plasterer and decorator believes that in death his aspiring architect son has become a “legend”. He said: “When these boys killed my son, Stephen, they created a legend. In his death, Stephen is a legend. There is debate about racism, there are organisa- tions set up to help to make people understand about racism. The police have been put under the spotlight because of Stephen’s death.”
Following a four-year investigation by the National Crime Agency, four former officers were found to have acted so negligently that they could face charges for “misconduct in public office”, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
But senior figures within the inquiry do not believe the Metropolitan Police was seriously compromised by gangster Clifford Norris, the father of one of the men convicted of the murder.
Stephen’s family and Mr Brooks have long suspected that corrupt officers working for the gangster allowed the A-level student’s killers to evade justice. Dozens of individuals are known to have approached Scotland Yard to name the culprits within days of the slaying, but it was several weeks before officers arrested anyone, allowing crucial evidence to be lost.
Mr Lawrence and his former wife, who is now Baroness Lawrence, have campaigned for more than two decades to get justice for their son.
The botched case led to a major public inquiry.