Since April 1993, when his son Stephen was murdered, Neville Lawrence has been fighting for justice. Here is his personal account of that struggle, as told to Home Affairs Correspondent Simon Israel.
The convictions of Gary Dobson and David Norris on 3 January for the murder of Stephen Lawrence are the most significant steps so far in the long road to justice for Stephen Lawrence‘s family.
They have been fighting since the night of his murder in 1993 to get the truth for their son. Neville Lawrence has been relentless in his battle – but the last 18 years have cost him dear: his marriage, his health, and his quality of life.
Since the murder, Mr Lawrence has lived through seven police investigations, one aborted trial, one inquest and a public inquiry.
Channel 4 News Home Affairs Correspondent Simon Israel spent time with Mr Lawrence ahead of the January verdict, and got a glimpse into just how passionately that battle has been fought.
It’s 18 years now and my son is being remembered because he is dead. Neville Lawrence
In the time he spent with Mr Lawrence, he accompanied him on a visit to a school in Ipswich, one of many similar visits, where the bereaved father told pupils: “As I am looking at you today, I wish I could see my son in the crowd, because he wanted to be an architect, he wanted his name to be known because of the buildings that he did.
“Well it’s 18 years now and my son is being remembered because he is dead. I wish it wasn’t that way.”
Most of his audience at the school were not even born when Stephen Lawrence was killed.
Mr Lawrence told Channel 4 News: “My role and the role of my ex-wife has been to say we’re not going to give up, and we’re going to push it to the limit, as far as we possibly can, in any way possible.”
Even with the convictions, Mr Lawrence does not believe the fight is completely over. Despite his relief that both Dobson and Norris were found guilty, Mr Lawrence said he hoped they would now give up the names of the other people involved in the racist gang.
“I’m praying that these people now realise that they’ve been found out and say to themselves, ‘yes I did this awful deed, but I wasn’t alone in that action that night and there are other people also guilty of what I’ve done’ and name them,” he said.
“I hope before the sentence is passed, they will talk and give the rest of these people that killed my son up.”
Watch below: an interview with Neville Lawrence from the day Dobson and Norris were convicted.