Stephen Lawrence was stabbed to death by a gang of white youths in Eltham, south-east London, on 22 April 1993. A murder trial against two suspects, Neil Acourt, then 17, and Luke Knight, who was 16, was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in July 1993, citing insufficient evidence. A private prosecution was also brought the following year against Acourt, Knight and three others, Jamie Acourt, David Norris and Gary Dobson, but this failed to bring a successful conclusion. Charges against the original two suspects were dropped before the trial due to lack of evidence, and the three remaining suspects were acquitted at the trial when the judge ruled that the identification evidence given by Lawrence's friend and witness Duwayne Brooks was inadmissible.
However earlier this year new scientific evidence was submitted and in May the Crown Prosecution Service gave the go ahead for a new trial [BBC].
In opening the proceedings Judge Mr Justice Treacy warned jurors not to discuss the case with "curious friends and family" and banned them from consulting the Internet, so as not to jeopardise a fair trial.
Prosecutor Mark Ellison QC is expected to begin outlining the case against the accused later on Tuesday. The trial is likely to last until at least the end of December [BBC / Sky News].
tvnewswatch, London, UK
1 comment:
How long does it take to say "yes" or "no" ?
On Monday 14th November 2011, two men, Gary Dobson and David Norris went on trial at the Old Bailey charged with the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993. The very same day, I submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Metropolitan police asking them if ALL the tape-recorded material which should have been disclosed to Mr. Dobson's and Mr. Norris's solicitors had been disclosed, or had they chosen to keep it deliberately concealed again, as they have done in other cases.
I made my FOI request publicly on the what do they know.com website, and you can view it here:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/the_murder_of_stephen_lawrence#incoming-227285
As you can see, their acknowledgement of my request does not accurately reflect the question I have put to them. The law says that FOI requests should be answered PROMPTLY, and in any case within twenty working days.
It is now two days since I submitted my request. I will let you know when I have received a satisfactory response, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
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