Guilty as charged

Justice at last.

Indeed.

Thank goodness!

I feel for the Lawrence family they have served a life sentence themselves waiting for justice to be done.

Praise be! Justice at last.

absentgrana no you are not!

No absentagran you are not, I feel for all that the Lawrence family have gone through

What is wrong with being glad that justice has at last been done? I don't think many of us were in any doubt as to their guilt - but for the family there can be no feeling other than perhaps some relief that this part of their ordeal is at least over.

Oh, that is so good. (Hadn't heard News)

I know it won't give Stephen his life back, but at least it's justice.

Thank goodness for that - they have been bragging that they were untouchable for years and at last justice has been done.

What a pity it took so long!

Glad to hear that justice has been done. I have some much admiration for the Lawrence family and their determination to get justice for Stephen over such a long period of time.

My feeling of relief is not simply because a) it must offer some small degree of comfort to the parents or b) the concept of justice is immensely important in any society, but also because c) while they could boast about "getting away with it", it must have encouraged other ignorant racists to think the same way.

More important perhaps is the legacy of this case in terms of the way the police and other organisations conduct themselves in terms of "institutional racism" since the conclusions of the inquiry. Stephen's legacy is a higher level of professionalism in many places.

Doreen Lawrence is an amazing woman. Just been watching her on the London news on the pc (in preference to the Scottish news we get here). I applaud her

I hope they get the other three now. They said on the News that they have found no dna evidence to use against them, but they are hoping that someone who knew them at the time might have "grown up" and decide to come forward with evidence.

I hate that cocky looking one in dark glasses.

I know how you feel jingl. The Acourt brothers should be next.

I have been looking at the videos which were secretly filmed of them boasting about what they would do to black people - they really are vile. It appears that both the accused had convictions for previous offences but of course the jury could not be told that until after the verdict.
Let us hope they now 'grass up' the other three and also that the judge gives them the mandatory life sentence but without any hope of parole.

This information and more has been shared around the authorites for years and hundreds of people have known about their guilt. Here's a poem written by Benjamin Zephania in 2003, which says it all:

What Stephen Lawrence Has Taught Us

We know who the killers are,
We have watched them strut before us
As proud as sick Mussolinis',
We have watched them strut before us
Compassionless and arrogant,
They paraded before us,
Like angels of death
Protected by the law.

It is now an open secret
Black people do not have
Chips on their shoulders,
They just have injustice on their backs
And justice on their minds,
And now we know that the road to liberty
Is as long as the road from slavery.

The death of Stephen Lawrence
Has taught us to love each other
And never to take the tedious task
Of waiting for a bus for granted.
Watching his parents watching the cover-up
Begs the question
What are the trading standards here?
Why are we paying for a police force
That will not work for us?

The death of Stephen Lawrence
Has taught us
That we cannot let the illusion of freedom
Endow us with a false sense of security as we walk the streets,
The whole world can now watch
The academics and the super cops
Struggling to define institutionalised racism
As we continue to die in custody
As we continue emptying our pockets on the pavements,
And we continue to ask ourselves
Why is it so official
That black people are so often killed
Without killers?

We are not talking about war or revenge
We are not talking about hypothetics or possibilities,
We are talking about where we are now
We are talking about how we live now
In dis state
Under dis flag, (God Save the Queen),
And God save all those black children who want to grow up
And God save all the brothers and sisters
Who like raving,
Because the death of Stephen Lawrence
Has taught us that racism is easy when
You have friends in high places.
And friends in high places
Have no use whatsoever
When they are not your friends.

Dear Mr Condon,
Pop out of Teletubby land,
And visit reality,
Come to an honest place
And get some advice from your neighbours,
Be enlightened by our community,
Neglect your well-paid ignorance
Because
We know who the killers are.

I wish I had know about that poem when I first raised this case on another thread. I had seen the videos and the interview with Bashir, but apparently I was wrong to pre-judge the case as they were innocent until proved guilty.
Well, now we know they are guilty, but young black men are still many times more likely to be stopped and searched than white men, so can we really claim that racism in some of the police force is a thing of the past?

I am afraid they will have a maximum sentence of 12 years, as they were juveniles when they committed the crime.

Gary Dobson and David Norris sentenced to minimum of 15 and 14 years in jail for "terrible, evil" crime, said the judge. This means they will be reviewed periodically for suitability for parole and if not deemed suitable, they will serve the whole term. Dobson is seen as a weak link who may now turn supergrass and inform on the Acourts and Knight.

At last they are where they belong. I think the judge was right when he said this crime "scarred the nation".

Well done Met Police.

Amen to that!