Poor Stephen Lawrence

[Merryoldgoat]

I’m watching the Stephen Lawrence documentary. I’m only about half an hour in and I can’t bear it.

I just think about my boys upstairs and can’t imagine how his parents and his friend must feel.

It’s just so awful.

Can't believe that nobody got down to check his pulse, injury, level of consciousness or even comfort!

I read years ago anolder couple passed and held his hand saying "you are loved" before medics arrived.
That made me cry and hope he heard them.

I grew up about 20 mins away from Eltham. I occasionally drove down Well Hall road when I worked for London buses, many years afterwards. Always thought about the spot where he died, think it was Dickson road bus stop. Quite a busy road too.
Many things astonished me on the documentary but the main one was what the Police did with The Stephen Lawrence case files, leaving them in a closed down police station, telling Clive Driscoll ( a police officer) to just bin them!!
This was only in around 2010 as well, not that long ago. Surely you would think that criminal case files would be locked away safely in archives somewhere, not left in an empty building and to be disposed of...??? Particularly as this was such a massive case.

Thanks to Clive Driscoll, he re -checked the files and got the case going again. This eventually lead to the arrest and convictions of two of the gang. I’m amazed Clive Driscoll wasn’t properly recognised for this.
The whole investigation seemed thwarted from the beginning, just didn’t make sense how such powerful people in the justice system didn’t seem to want to acknowledge the failures of the police.

There was more for Clive Driscoll to investigate at the time, yet he was pensioned off against his wishes, according to the documentary. It all stinks.

The abandoned files and treatment of Driscoll stinks of a cover up.
There is no doubt in my mind Norris the drug dealer was involved.

I hadn’t known much about the case before the documentary but it seems clear Driscoll could’ve done more if allowed - I’m sure there’s been a cover up.

I think one of the fathers of the murderers being a career criminal (I won't call him a gangster) is very significant.
Due to my own circumstances I have met many parents bereaved by murder.
I have heard stories of hitting brick walls and being warned off by the police when a local crime family is involved.

@TheFirstMrsDV
I totally thought that too. How does a career criminals son not have their house searched for 6 weeks even though there were lots of anonymous tip offs within hours..?
Apparently you can’t just go in and investigate someone on a tip off, so one of the policemen said.

I agree with @TheFirstMrsDV, when Mellish was talking about the dad he called him an old school gangster or something, but he did it with reverence almost, like he was something special. And also referred to the attack on Stephen as “cowardly” which struck me as tremendous minimisation

This is a interesting read. Pretty shocking really, it’s 2018 and it’s only properly coming to light
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/apr/19/corrupt-met-officers-protected-family-of-stephen-lawrence-murderer

@Lostforagoodname it is very shocking, but sadly not surprising. That investigation (and others not in the public eye) was rotten to the core, and it was because of corruption and racism. Put simply, money was king and a black boy deemed worthless. And that is the most shocking thing of all.

It explains a lot.
Those five boys were so cocky.
Now I know why.

The extraordinary thing was the Daily Fail's involvement.

Without a national newspaper putting a rocket up the arse of the police and CPS, this really would have been just another unsolved stabbing.

Nigel Lawrence was Paul Dacre's plasterer. That's it. That's the only connection.

inews.co.uk/news/media/paul-dacre-admits-daily-mail-ran-murderers-stephen-lawrence-splash-because-neville-lawrence-did-his-his-plastering/

Terrifying and depressing in equal measure.

I’ve wondered why the DM was so vehemently vocal about this case, given their propensity for racist propaganda even now.

Paul Dacre saying it was because he knew Neville Lawrence answered a question I’ve asked myself a lot.

This crime is an embarrassment to us all, as a nation. Like Hillsborough. Shameful. The 3 part documentary was hard watching!

It really is "who you know".

The Lawrences are inspirational people, the tragedy is it took the violent, unsolved death of their son for them to get changes in society. 😢

Anyone can see that the Lawrence’s were a decent normal family. Stephen and Duane were just two young lads at a bus stop trying to go home.
I’ve heard crap before like Stephen was a drug dealer and was known to the gang that knifed him. What bloody proof is there? Why make up this bull shit about a defenceless dead young man? He was a student studying at Greenwich college, no criminal activity. He had never met the thugs who murdered him, he was completely innocent.
Serious question, why was the legal system so unmotivated to solve his murder? I can understand that the Met has a few corrupt officers, but were talking about the criminal justice system as a whole here, including a change of Governments over the years.

I keep wondering what happened to some of the police officers - for example that police recruit who spouted off all that racist stuff to the journalist or those that were believed to be in the pay of Clifford Norris. I just hope they were dismissed and are not walking around on full pay or pensions.

One of the accused father was a career criminal from Chislehurst who had a lot of police in south east London in his pocket. There was a massive corruption issue and that's why the case was thwarted from the beginning. A lot of met police were paid to sink the case by one of the fathers who was a drug dealer with police connections. I can't remember the name of the guy, Nicholls I think.

On phone so can’t do a click link but this yesterday really shocked me. Doesn’t look like we learned much.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/27/racism-british-society-minority-ethnic-people-dying-excessive-force- -

The racist police recruit was from the BBC undercover journalist. This was Greater Manchester Police , if I remember rightly in about 2003/ 2004. The recruit was dismissed,after broadcast. Not sure if he got charged or not. Scary to think he would have been a serving police officer with views like that!!
Most of the Police from 1993 would be retired by now. I don’t think anyone has ever been charged with Police corruption, it would also be hard to prove as well.
All retired on police pensions I’d presume. Sadly.

Can’t even bear to watch the documentary to be honest.
His parents are truly inspirational. Ordinary people who faced such a horrific event.
I truly believe that the perpetrators will never ever have peace of mind.

It's heartbreaking to see how his friend was treated too. He would have clearly been traumatised by what he'd experience, yet no understanding of that seems to nave been given

Neville and Doreen Lawrence are remarkably assertive and dignified

Next time you hear some twat complaining about the law of joint enterprise - just remember that it's that law that banged up two of them neither of whom was the actual knifeman. I fear that his clothes (which much have been soaked with blood) were disposed of - probably in some innocent person's wheelie bin - before the night was out.

Next time you hear some twat complaining about the law of joint enterprise - just remember that it's that law that banged up two of them neither of whom was the actual knifeman. I fear that his clothes (which much have been soaked with blood) were disposed of - probably in some innocent person's wheelie bin - before the night was out.

Yes Andrew, that's the rub. It was that runty Acourt, currently serving 6 years for drugs offences.

Serious question, why was the legal system so unmotivated to solve his murder?

Honestly, because institutional racism resulting in indifference to the life and death of a young black man goes right to the top.