The family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence have urged parole staff not to release one of his killers.
A gang chased, surrounded and stabbed Stephen, who was 18, near a south-east London bus stop in April 1993 and two men – David Norris and Gary Dobson – were convicted of his murder in 2012, but at least three members of the gang remain free.
A Parole Board hearing is taking place in public on Tuesday and Wednesday, and another day in private on Friday, to decide whether the 49-year-old Norris should be freed, or moved to an open prison.
Lawrence’s mother, Doreen Lawrence, told the hearing she feared for her family’s safety and that it was her “firm view” that Norris should not walk free, while his father, Neville, and brother, Stuart, said they did not believe the killer should walk free without revealing what happened on the night of Lawrence’s murder.
Lawyer Imran Khan read a statement from Stephen’s mother, who said her son was killed in the “most brutal and callous fashion”.
She said that the killers were “murderous thugs”, and that she had battled for decades for justice for her son.
“I never wanted the attention or the publicity, but I was forced to do so.”
Lady Lawrence, who was observing the hearing, said in the statement she was “harassed and vilified” by members of the public who applauded what the racist killers had done.
She said Norris showed “no hint of empathy for what me and my family have gone through” and that she wants “answers” about what happened to her son.
Her statement said that Norris had shown no acceptance, contrition or humanity, that she could not forgive him and that he was a danger to the public.
A legal representative read a statement for Stephen’s father that said “justice has not been done” if Norris were released without naming the other members of the gang who murdered his son.
He added that Norris’s admission that he was at the murder scene ahead of proceedings “did not come from genuine remorse” as he was yet to name the other members of the gang.
Earlier, Lawrence’s father told the BBC it was important for him to hear Stephen’s killers being named and for them to be brought to justice. “It’s important for me because of what these people have done,” he said.
“They ruined my life. They’ve caused me not to be able to live in this country. They’ve robbed me of the chance of seeing my son getting married, of having [his] grandchildren.”
Khan read a statement for Stephen’s brother, Stuart, that said: “This individual is fully aware of the truth, but has deliberately chosen to lie and remain silent.
“If you have any uncertainties, I strongly encourage you to keep this individual in his current situation until he is ready to reveal the truth.”
Permission was given for his parole hearing to take place in public after an application by the media was backed by Stephen’s parents, with Neville Lawrence saying: “The more people that can see, the better.”
In a document outlining the decision, it was revealed that Norris now accepts that he was present at the scene of the murder, but claims that he punched Stephen and was not the person who stabbed him.
Norris was allowed to read a statement before being questioned, saying he wanted to “express my genuine remorse for the death of the victim in my case”.
“I was a 16-year-old, horrible, violent, racist young man who had come so far off the rails that there was a high possibility I might never be back on the right track.”
He said as he got older he wanted to emulate his criminal father Clifford Norris.
Norris went on: “I had to try and be bigger and badder than him.”
He apologised to black and ethnic minority communities for the feeling caused after Lawrence’s murder.
He said black and ethnic minority communities were left feeling unsafe to walk the streets of London and apologised for the feeling caused.
He told the parole hearing that the difference between his 16-year-old self and the 49-year-old man he was today was “night and day”.
A prison offender manager told a Parole Board hearing that she did not believe one of Stephen Lawrence’s killers, David Norris, was ready for release.
She said he would need to be moved to less restrictive prison conditions first, amid concerns about “non-compliance”.
The other suspects in the case were Jamie and Neil Acourt, who have since been convicted of unrelated drug offences, and Luke Knight. A sixth suspect, Matthew White, died in 2021.