30 years ago today, little Larence was stabed in Eltham, and yet, his legacy lives on….only, is it the correct impression left lingering in our minds?
Robert Henderson
The conviction of Gary Dobson and David Norris for the murder of Stephen Lawrence is a savage and sinister travesty of justice. That is not because the defendants are necessarily innocent . What is profoundly worrying is the decision to prosecute regardless of the feeble quality of the new evidence, the placing in double jeopardy of Dobson (who had been formally acquitted in 1996 of the murder when a private prosecution was brought) , the general difficulties of a trial held 18 years after the event, the all too perniciously potent legacy of the Macpherson Report and the almost continuous media circus which has accompanied the Lawrence killing for nearly 19 years and repeatedly savaged the reputation of the defendants .
The impossibility of a fair trial
The question of whether Dobson and Norris could get a fair trial should have been tested before the case was heard. …
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nomasons 