A public inquiry into the investigation found the Metropolitan Police to be incompetent and institutionally racist. In 2006, thirteen years after their son’s murder, the family were still fighting for justice. Stephen s1e1, captions, ITV 2021
My son’s killers were identified 13 years ago within hours of his murder. Since then there has been three investigations; the law of double jeopardy was changed so that murderers could be retried; and still we’re sitting here with no justice. ibid. dad Neville
Well, they [Lawrence files] were just left there gathering dust. Not right is it? Case like this needs solving. ibid. Coogan
I’ve been through the files, ma’am. It’s a straightforward crime that I think we should be able to solve with a bit of common-sense coppering. ibid.
What is a mystery is why when there were clear grounds for arrest the senior detectives at the time waited two weeks to pick them up. ibid.
When your son has been murdered what does anything mean after that? ibid. Neville
The first investigation described it as a brief attack and that’s haunted us ever since. ibid.
I know we haven’t done much to inspire your confidence over the years but this is my case now. We’ve got a real chance here. The forensics have promised it. Stephen II, rozzer to mum
I can’t even begin to imagine the strength it must take to keep fighting all these years. ibid.
We found Stephen’s blood on Gary Dobson’s jacket. ibid.
The group converged on Steve. When I looked back I saw one of the guys had a weapon ran straight into him. Stephen III, Duwayne’s testimony
Like the judge said, we’ve got three killers still at large. ibid. rozzer
Mark Ellison QC found that the Lawrence family campaign was infiltrated and spied on by undercover police officers. Ellison also found there were reasonable grounds to suspect DS John Davidson of corruption, but no connection was proved between him and Clifford Norris. A National Crime Agency review found no evidence against Davidson. The Met closed the investigation into Stephen’s murder in 2020. The rest of the gang who killed him may now never face justice. ibid. captions
The racist murderers of a teenager have remained free for well over a decade. Could forensic science finally find the clues to bring the killers to justice? Cold Case Forensics: Murder of Stephen Lawrence, ITV 2023
Stephen Lawrence’s murder was a despicable crime that shocked the nation. But the investigation which followed was to cause more pain for the family and bring more shame on Britain’s largest police force. Stephen’s suspected killers remained free. ibid.
Angela and her team now had to explore the idea that there had been greater contact between the attackers and Stephen than first assumed. ibid.
‘An enormous amount of work was done on this particular case.’ ibid. Angela