Rejected, move to open jail for Stephen’s killer
ONE of Stephen Lawrence’s racist killers has had a plea to move to an open prison denied over fears he still poses a risk.
David Norris – who has previously suffered a broken nose and ribs after being attacked behind bars – is eligible for parole in 2024 after being given a life sentence for murdering the black teenager.
However, an audacious bid to move from bleak Dartmoor prison to a low-security jail in preparation for his hoped-for release was blocked by Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, it emerged yesterday.
Last month’s decision comes after Mr Raab promised to start personally reviewing requests to move high-risk offenders to open conditions.
The rejection will be welcomed by Stephen’s mother, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, according to the retired detective who brought Norris and Gary Dobson to justice in 2012 after a long-running campaign championed by the Daily Mail. ‘This is the right decision, and I’m grateful that it’s been made,’ said former Met Police Detective Chief Inspector Clive Driscoll, a trustee of the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation.
‘Neither of them has ever shown any remorse for killing Stephen. I’m certain this will come as a great relief to Baroness Lawrence and the rest of the family.’
Stephen, an 18-year-old A-level student, was stabbed to death in Eltham, south-east London, in April 1993. However a bungled police inquiry meant that no arrests were made for two weeks after his death.
Following a DNA breakthrough, Norris, now 45, and Dobson, 46, were found guilty in 2012 of murdering the teenager. Norris was ordered to serve a minimum of 14 years and three months – meaning he will be eligible to apply for parole in two years’ time.
Dobson, jailed for a minimum of 15 years and two months, will be eligible to apply for a move to open conditions in the coming months, it is understood.
Norris’s transfer request was such a clear case of high risk that the move would have been refused even before the Justice Secretary began personally reviewing such cases, sources explained.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘The Justice Secretary is clear that dangerous offenders can’t move before they’ve proved they’re no longer a risk.’