Stephen Lawrence
Gary Dobson and David Norris detained for life
Two men convicted of the murder of Stephen Lawrence have been detained for a minimum of 15 years and two months and 14 years and three months.
An Old Bailey jury found Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, guilty of the 1993 killing in south east London.
The life terms on the pair were passed as if they were juveniles as both were under 18 when the black teenager died.
The judge, Mr Justice Treacy, said the crime was committed for no other reason than racial hatred.
Dobson will serve a minimum of 15 years and two months and Norris 14 years and three months.
The judge said the resulting sentences were lower than some would expect "but I am constrained by Parliament".
"The gravity of this case is high," the judge said. He said Mr Lawrence was completely blameless and helpless.
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.
Mr Justice Treacy described the crime as a "murder that scarred the nation".
"I'm sure that you knew one of your group was armed with a knife that night," he 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.
Forensic evidence
BBC correspondents said the press benches were packed for the sentencing and there was a huge line for the public gallery. The courtroom had to be rearranged to allow members of Stephen Lawrence's family to attend and Mr Justice Treacy allowed some journalists to stand.
The prosecution had relied on new forensic evidence after an earlier case was dropped and a private prosecution by the Lawrence family against three men - including Dobson - failed.
Scientists conducting a review of the case in 2007 found a tiny bloodstain on Dobson's jacket that could only have come from Mr Lawrence. They also found a single hair belonging to the teenager on Norris's jeans. The scientists recovered the material from evidence the police had held all along using advanced techniques which were not available to the original case
Dobson and Norris denied murdering Mr Lawrence and said their clothing had been contaminated as police mixed up evidence over the years. Detectives spent months establishing the movements and handling of the exhibits since 1993 - and the jury were told that contamination was implausible.
Ahead of sentencing, counsel for Dobson had said there was no evidence he had been the leader or prime motivator of the group that attacked the teenager.
Norris's counsel repeated his client's pleas of innocence - and revealed his client had been beaten up while on remand at Belmarsh prison, suffering a broken nose and four broken ribs.
'Rosa Parks moment'
Police arrested Dobson and Norris and three other suspects in the months after Mr Lawrence's murder in April 1993 but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped the case, saying the evidence of a key witness was unreliable.
The CPS later said fresh evidence presented by the Lawrence's barrister was not sufficient for a new prosecution and the family launched a private prosecution against Gary Dobson and two others, which failed.
An inquest later delivered a verdict of unlawful killing "in a completely unprovoked racist attack by five youths" and in 1999 a public inquiry into the case led to the Metropolitan Police being branded institutionally racist.
Matthew Ryder QC represented the Lawrence family in its civil claim against the police. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the Lawrence case was a "Rosa Parks moment" for British society.
"It was a moment when you saw the victims of injustice fighting for justice and the system letting them down and I think for that reason it profoundly changed how we view race and racism within this society," Mr Ryder said.
"On the face of it - it was a crude, violent form of racism - which every reasonable person would condemn - but what followed on from that, what's always been part of the Lawrence case, was the pernicious, systemic forms of racism which caused the investigation to fail."
Doreen Lawrence: "How can I celebrate when my son lies buried?"
The former commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Lord Blair told Today that the case had seen police move from a "colour-blind" approach to policing to one which understood the previous experiences and expectations held by different communities.
He said that after the case Scotland Yard also formed dedicated homicide units, which lead to a falling murder rate and rise in convictions.
"The legacy of Stephen Lawrence is just of the most enormous change possible in policing."
Lord Blair said the Metropolitan Police would never give up on the case: "They know there are a number of suspects and they know the identity of those suspects and over time loyalties change and people who might once have protected these people might not be doing so in a few years time."
At a media conference on Wednesday, Met Police Comissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "The other people involved in the murder of Stephen Lawrence should not rest easily in their beds."
Police have said they could reopen the investigation if new evidence emerges.
at last,some justice for the lawrence family
Gary Dobson and David Norris detained for life
Two men convicted of the murder of Stephen Lawrence have been detained for a minimum of 15 years and two months and 14 years and three months.
An Old Bailey jury found Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, guilty of the 1993 killing in south east London.
The life terms on the pair were passed as if they were juveniles as both were under 18 when the black teenager died.
The judge, Mr Justice Treacy, said the crime was committed for no other reason than racial hatred.
Dobson will serve a minimum of 15 years and two months and Norris 14 years and three months.
The judge said the resulting sentences were lower than some would expect "but I am constrained by Parliament".
"The gravity of this case is high," the judge said. He said Mr Lawrence was completely blameless and helpless.
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.
Mr Justice Treacy described the crime as a "murder that scarred the nation".
"I'm sure that you knew one of your group was armed with a knife that night," he 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.
Forensic evidence
BBC correspondents said the press benches were packed for the sentencing and there was a huge line for the public gallery. The courtroom had to be rearranged to allow members of Stephen Lawrence's family to attend and Mr Justice Treacy allowed some journalists to stand.
The prosecution had relied on new forensic evidence after an earlier case was dropped and a private prosecution by the Lawrence family against three men - including Dobson - failed.
Scientists conducting a review of the case in 2007 found a tiny bloodstain on Dobson's jacket that could only have come from Mr Lawrence. They also found a single hair belonging to the teenager on Norris's jeans. The scientists recovered the material from evidence the police had held all along using advanced techniques which were not available to the original case
Dobson and Norris denied murdering Mr Lawrence and said their clothing had been contaminated as police mixed up evidence over the years. Detectives spent months establishing the movements and handling of the exhibits since 1993 - and the jury were told that contamination was implausible.
Ahead of sentencing, counsel for Dobson had said there was no evidence he had been the leader or prime motivator of the group that attacked the teenager.
Norris's counsel repeated his client's pleas of innocence - and revealed his client had been beaten up while on remand at Belmarsh prison, suffering a broken nose and four broken ribs.
'Rosa Parks moment'
Police arrested Dobson and Norris and three other suspects in the months after Mr Lawrence's murder in April 1993 but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped the case, saying the evidence of a key witness was unreliable.
The CPS later said fresh evidence presented by the Lawrence's barrister was not sufficient for a new prosecution and the family launched a private prosecution against Gary Dobson and two others, which failed.
An inquest later delivered a verdict of unlawful killing "in a completely unprovoked racist attack by five youths" and in 1999 a public inquiry into the case led to the Metropolitan Police being branded institutionally racist.
Matthew Ryder QC represented the Lawrence family in its civil claim against the police. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the Lawrence case was a "Rosa Parks moment" for British society.
"It was a moment when you saw the victims of injustice fighting for justice and the system letting them down and I think for that reason it profoundly changed how we view race and racism within this society," Mr Ryder said.
"On the face of it - it was a crude, violent form of racism - which every reasonable person would condemn - but what followed on from that, what's always been part of the Lawrence case, was the pernicious, systemic forms of racism which caused the investigation to fail."
Doreen Lawrence: "How can I celebrate when my son lies buried?"
The former commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Lord Blair told Today that the case had seen police move from a "colour-blind" approach to policing to one which understood the previous experiences and expectations held by different communities.
He said that after the case Scotland Yard also formed dedicated homicide units, which lead to a falling murder rate and rise in convictions.
"The legacy of Stephen Lawrence is just of the most enormous change possible in policing."
Lord Blair said the Metropolitan Police would never give up on the case: "They know there are a number of suspects and they know the identity of those suspects and over time loyalties change and people who might once have protected these people might not be doing so in a few years time."
At a media conference on Wednesday, Met Police Comissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "The other people involved in the murder of Stephen Lawrence should not rest easily in their beds."
Police have said they could reopen the investigation if new evidence emerges.
at last,some justice for the lawrence family
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