Why I’ve forgiven my son’s killers after 25 years, by Neville Lawrence
To be a Christian you have to forgive people ... I think it’ll be the hardest decision I’ll ever make ‘In death, Stephen is a legend’
THE father of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence says he forgives his son’s killers.
Neville Lawrence, 76, said the decision was the hardest he had ever made, but it was necessary as part of his Christian faith.
Speaking ahead of the 25th anniversary of Stephen’s murder, Mr Lawrence said yesterday the killing had inflicted ‘a life sentence’ on him and his family.
The father of three said: ‘I will never be the person I was before Stephen’s death. You can never brush this aside – this is going to live with you for the rest of your life.
‘This is a life sentence that you can’t finish. The only time my life sentence will be finished is when I’m in the ground.’
Stephen was 18 when he was stabbed by a five-strong gang of white youths in Eltham, south-east London, on April 22, 1993. The gang shouted racist abuse as they began the unprovoked attack on the A-level student. Only two have been convicted of the murder.
Mr Lawrence named the five men, saying: ‘The people who were said to be involved in the murder of my son were Neil Acourt, Luke Knight, Gary Dobson, David Norris and Jamie Acourt.
‘To be a Christian you have to forgive people for what they have done... So in order to be a Christian, I decided I am going to forgive all those people who were involved in my son’s murder.
‘[It] is one of the hardest decisions I have ever made, and I think it will be the hardest I will ever make in my lifetime.’ Mr Lawrence’s marriage to Stephen’s mother Doreen – now Baroness Lawrence – collapsed in the aftermath of the murder and they are now divorced.
Baroness Lawrence has said she cannot forgive Stephen’s killers: ‘You can only forgive somebody when they have shown remorse and accepted what they have done – and they haven’t.’
The initial investigation into Stephen’s death was hampered by incompetence, racism and alleged corruption, and detectives have admitted the case is unlikely to progress without new information. Mr Lawrence, a former plasterer, said the murder and subsequent public inquiry into racism in the police had made his son a significant figure in British history.
He said: ‘When these boys killed my son Stephen, they created a legend. In his death, Stephen is a legend. There is debate about rac- ism, there are organisations set up to help to make people understand about racism, the police have been put under the spotlight because of Stephen’s death.’ Mr Lawrence said he would spend the anniversary of the murder in church, but wanted to continue to work with young people to explain the dire consequences of carrying a weapon.
Such work has been given even greater significance because of the surge in violent crime in parts of Britain in recent months. There have been almost 60 murders in London this year.
Mr Lawrence said: ‘ Right now with the violence, and the knife crime violence, it is even more urgent now that I talk to these youngsters and explain to them the pain and the suffering they inflict on families.’ Dobson, now 42, and Norris, 41, were convicted and jailed for life in 2012 when DNA and fibre evidence linked them to the murder.
Neil Acourt, 42, is behind bars for masterminding a £4 million cannabis smuggling ring, while his brother Jamie, 41, is on the run in Spain and wanted for links to drugs crime. The only gang member still on British streets is Knight, 41.
Mr Lawrence’s solicitor Jocelyn Cockburn, from Hodge Jones and Allen, said: ‘I am humbled by his message of forgiveness to mark the anniversary of his son’s death. Neville can feel proud of what he has achieved in the intervening years.’