British Court Convicts two Men of 1993 Murder of Teenager

Lawrence’s mother, Doreen and father Neville, wept as the verdicts were delivered at the Old Bailey, London’s central criminal court.

Dobson protested his innocence as he was led from court saying: “You have condemned an innocent man here, I hope you can live with yourselves.”

The case became a catalyst for change after London’s Metropolitan Police botched the initial investigation into Lawrence’s death.

A 1999 report by Senior Judge, William Macpherson, said the murder had exposed “institutional racism” in the force and also accused officers of incompetence and a failure of leadership.

Since then, the police have overhauled their policies on racism and tried to recruit more officers from ethnic minorities, but the Lawrence’s case still weighs heavily on the force.

The impact of the Macpherson inquiry was felt across the public sector, with all bodies being required to put in place policies to prevent and address racism.

The case also helped to end the judicial doctrine of double jeopardy, which had previously prevented suspects from being tried twice for the same crime.

One of the defendants, Dobson, had been acquitted of the murder in 1996 when a private prosecution brought by the teenager’s parents collapsed.

The Court of Appeal quashed that acquittal in May 2011 and said Dobson could stand trial again, a decision made possible after double jeopardy was scrapped in 2005.

The trial of Dobson and Norris, which began in November, hinged on new forensic evidence linking the two men to the murdered teenager.

Prosecutors said textile fibres, blood and hair belonging to Lawrence had been found on clothing seized from the defendants.

The defence argued that the clothes were contaminated during the police investigation because officers did not store them properly.

The two men will be sentenced on Wednesday. They face a mandatory life term, with a minimum number of years to be set by the judge before they can be considered for release. Courtesy Reuters