David Norris refused parole in Stephen Lawrence case

David Norris refused parole in Stephen Lawrence case
Credit: PA Media

UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – David Norris, convicted of murdering Stephen Lawrence in a racially motivated attack, has been denied parole and will remain in prison, sources say.

After being locked in 2012, he requested release during a parole hail in October. 

In 1993, Stephen, just eighteen, was fatally picked in a ethical attack in south London

Police consistently claim that six persons were involved, yet only two of his killers have been found guilty.

Norris acknowledged his involvement in the attack during the parole hearing, but he declined to identify the other murderers. He had previously denied any connection.

During the public hail, where he was requesting a license to be released, Norris handed evidence via a videotape link from captivity. 

Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Stephen’s mama , stated at the hearing that Norris must stay behind bars because he continues to pose a problem to the public. Norris’s release was also opposed by the justice clerk. 

The hail was held 13 years after Norris was doomed to life in captivity with a minimum of 14 times and three months. 

In Eltham, southeast London, Stephen was waiting at a bus stop when a gang fatally stabbed him. Only Norris and another murderer, Gary Dobson, have been found guilty.

A historic public investigation declared the Met to be “institutionally racist” as a result of the force’s infamous inability to thoroughly examine the five main suspects in the case.

Before the gang struck, Stephen was the target of an aggressive racist slur, according to witness testimony in the case files.

Norris claimed he was the final person to punch Stephen during his testimony at the parole hearing. He had made two or three attempts to strike him, and one of his blows was successful.

Norris gave police no-comment interviews and maintained his innocence throughout his trial, openly denying any participation in the murder for decades.

He denied attacking Stephen or using a knife, but the hearing heard confirmation that he had acknowledged involvement after being incarcerated.

Additionally, it was noted that Norris persisted in using racist language while incarcerated; in 2022, he was caught uttering the same racial epithet as was directed at Stephen prior to his stabbing.

He apologized to the Lawrence family and the larger black and ethnic community for the “fear” and “horror” his involvement in the attack had generated in a written statement that Norris read aloud.

Baroness Lawrence claimed that Norris had “killed my son in the most brutal and callous fashion” in a statement that was read aloud at the court. He permanently altered my life and the lives of my family members by doing this.

Norris has not “expressed any acceptance, any contrition and certainly has no humanity,” according to her, thus she was unable to forgive him.

Prior to being deemed safe for release from prison, Stephen’s father earlier told the BBC that Norris needed to identify the other murderers.

What reasons did the Parole Board give for denying release?

The Parole Board denied David Norris’s release due to enterprises over his ongoing threat to the public, citing poor captivity behaviour including racist language toward Muslim convicts and failure to completely expose his part in the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence. 

Panel members stressed Norris’s controversies with other captures, previous possession of contraband, and deficient admissions about the attack similar as refusing to name cohorts or confirm cutter involvement despite substantiation. They noted these actions undermined claims of guilt and recuperation, despite his expressed guilt. 

No captivity staff supported release, and the Justice Secretary expostulated, emphasizing the crime’s inflexibility and Norris’s order B security status. The board supposed him unrehearsed for safe reintegration, delaying retrospection.