Stephen Lawrence Murder Bbc 1

[Twogirlsandme]

So sad. It makes me so angry to watch this, his poor friend and of course his family.

You cannot compare what happened to poor Stephen to what is happening with stabbings in London at the moment. He was attacked by racist thugs, while the stabbings now are nearly all black on black crimes. Mindless gang violence.....

It’s not a comparison of the crime though. There was a narrative in some media/police that Stephen wasn’t necessarily innocent. That narrative does still exist today.

As in when a black kid gets stabbed by another black kid the victim must be involved in gangs/drugs.

You cannot compare what happened to poor Stephen to what is happening with stabbings in London at the moment. He was attacked by racist thugs, while the stabbings now are nearly all black on black crimes. Mindless gang violence.....

The stabbings in London now are fuelled by hate, just as Stephen’s death was fuelled by hate.

The government failing to take any actual action to prevent this, and the media coverage of it is entirely biased because the victims in the main have been black, or more accurately not white.

The lack of public outcry is telling too.

So yes, I can compare them. Because they show that the same shitty attitudes that means the bastards who murdered Stephen are free, are still alive and kicking 25 years later.

Where has it been published that it’s black on black crime for most of the stabbings? I wasn’t aware that anyone arrested had been identified? If I’m wrong I’m happy to apologise, I’m just curious.

Oh and if 62 white people had been stabbed in 4 months, better believe there would be a national emergency declared. Somehow even saying “gang violence” or “black on black” makes it less emotive to the public. Which in itself is disgusting.

Somehow even saying “gang violence” or “black on black” makes it less emotive to the public

So true.

I do remember hearing Doreen Lawrence saying that she was told effectively that her son was worth less because he was black.

That absolutely staggered me. I couldn’t wrap my head around it at all. To be told, as a mother, that your child is “less” because they’re black. By the very people investigating his murder. Awful.

Just watched part 1 on BBC I player. Nice to hear about the Lawrence family, such a waste of a hung mans life. Wrong place wrong time maybe, but Stephen had every right to be at that bus stop.
I grew up not too far from Eltham, strange seeing old footage of south east London. Brought back a few memories. I also drove buses around the place a few years back and know the place where Stephen was killed on Well Hall Road. As I said, I’ve only seen the first part, but I can’t believe they couldn’t get the black bin bags from the suspects at the time, could have had vital evidence! Handled so badly , at a time that wasn’t that long ago really.

Just finished watching this. Still makes me angry all these years later. Those idiot thugs thinking they’re tough guys, thinking that they were so much better than Stephen when really they’re just ignorant uneducated pigs.

And that twat saying Doreen Lawrence’s lack of smiling was a gimmick. Of course if she’d smiled he’d have criticised her for being too happy too.

I can’t stop thinking about this documentary a week later. I feel like my eyes have really been opened. I so hope that John Davidson is proven to have been taking bribes from the suspects father and that he is convicted for it. Him in prison wouldn’t bring Stephen back but it would be some sweet justice for the family and for Duwayne Brooks after all they’ve been through and their scrutiny at the hands of bent police officers only in it for the extra “bunce”.

Watched all 3 in last few days was really impressed with it I'm going to watch again with my husband as I want him to see it

The undying refusal of condon that the met was institutionally racist in the face of all feedback to the contrary was ridiculous.
That detective smirking that Duwayne ran away from his friend

Glad that 2 of them were jailed but awful it took so long

Just watched the final part. Such a tragic waste of life, taken by a group of uneducated racists.
I’m shocked that even in 1993 corruption was rife in the met! This wasn’t the 1970s! It’s down to former police officer Clive Driscoll that two of the suspects were eventually convicted. I’m shocked that boxes of Stephen Lawrence case folders were left in a soon to be closed police station and told to be disposed of! We’re only going back to around 2010! It’s only because of Clive Driscoll reviewing the archive statements and piecing together the case that led to the forensics being found. He wasn’t even given a commendation for the biggest break through in unsolved murder cases!
Feel sorry for Duane Brooke’s too, he was just a young lad who it seems did what he could to help Stephen after his attack. I mean what else could he have done? Poor man. Shame that him and Doreen have never spoke since.
Although Theresa May is partly responsible for the police cuts over the last few years, she atleast wanted to make changes to how the police operate, and understands how the police protect each other to cover up corruption. Poor parents, still in a lot of pain obviously.

Such a shame about the conduct of some of those officers that didn’t help ( first on scene) and those others on the documentary. That Bill Mellish didn’t really seem to get it at all did he...

I know that this is an old thread but wanted to comment on it as this amazing documentary is back on iPlayer this week because of Stephen Lawrence Day on April 22nd. It’s on there for the rest of the month. I watched it at the time and found it very powerful, but watching it this week in light of the the verdict in the George Floyd case it blew my socks off all over again.

I was only seven when Lawrence died in 1993 and 30 when the Police corruption investigation happened as a result of the Ellison review. As such this case was a strange background noise to my whole life (and had happened just 10 miles away from where I grew up) but until Lawrence had been dead for 25 years, I didn't really understand the case at all and had internalised the idea that Stephen Lawrence had been in a fight or in some way partially provoked the attack that killed him. This was not the case at all. I am white and my family aren’t racist at all, but I definitely remembering feeling like this case wasn’t really “anything to do with me” as a kid, as daft as that sounds.

I came to understand the case as a result of this amazing documentary. The family of Stephen Lawrence and their dedicated legal team headed up by Imran Khan and Michael Mansfield tenaciously fought for justice for almost 30 years. Bill Mellish has been discussed on this thread I see, and is a worm of a human. He should be ashamed of himself; when he talks about Doreen Lawrence’s pain and anger as a “gimmick” he showed himself up for what he really is. Thank God though for the wonderful Clive Driscoll who, along with his dedicated team, finally got partial justice for the Lawrence family. His memoir, In Pursuit of the Truth is well worth a read if you’re interested in the case. Mark Daly, the Scottish journalist who went undercover as a trainee officer has also done some amazing investigative work on the case. His documentary on the killers is on and very interesting.

As a result of watching this documentary back in 2018 I also read several other amazing books on the subject which are also well worth seeking out:

-The Case of Stephen Lawrence by Brian Cathcart

-And Still I Rise by Doreen Lawrence

• Steve and Me by Duwayne Brooks (the friend who was with Stephen on the night he died)

Both the [[https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/287031/stephen_lawrence_review_volume_1.pdf
Ellison Review]] and the original Macpherson Report are also available to read and very interesting. This Guardian article explains the original report in layman's terms and is a good introduction.

Regarding Stephen’s friend, Duwayne: my understanding is that at one time his relationship with the family broke down (something which Mellish takes great glee in telling in the documentary, the toad) and I don’t know why but I think it’s understandable that something as traumatic as this could lead to anger on both sides as well as misunderstanding and unexpressed grief and pain. I hope that Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence and Duwayne have found peace with one another or do one day. Duwayne has dedicated his life to raising awareness of racial inequality and was a councillor in Lewisham. I ended up in correspondence with him over Twitter for a bit after I read his book back in 2018 and he struck me as an inspirational and dedicated man as well as being very friendly and keen to spread his message of education far and wide.

The amazing TV film that was written by Paul Greengrass back in 1999 can also be watched online here. A sequel starring Steve Coogan as Clive Driscoll is in the works and promises to be an interesting watch.

If you’ve not watched the documentary, please do so. It’s not as easy watch but it’s an important one. Stephen Lawrence would have been 46 if he was alive today. He should have had a whole life filled with fulfilled ambition, kids and just the ordinary stuff that we take for granted. That it was stolen from him is bad enough; that some of those who took it are still walking the streets because of prejudices and corruption within our own legal and judicial system is a scandal.

Rest in peace, Stephen.