David Norris, one of the men convicted of murdering black teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993, has apologised to the victim's family but refused to name his accomplices. Speaking at a parole hearing on Tuesday, Norris expressed remorse for the racist killing but resisted calls from Stephen's father, Neville Lawrence, to identify other gang members involved.
Norris, now in his 40s, was jailed for life in 2012 with a minimum term of 14 years and three months, which expired in December 2024. He said he was a 'horrible, violent, racist young man' at the time of the murder but claimed that naming others would put him and his family at risk. Only two of the suspected five or six attackers have been convicted.
The parole board hearing, streamed from prison to the Royal Courts of Justice, continues this week to decide whether Norris should be released or moved to an open prison. The Justice Secretary has opposed his release. Stephen's mother, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, watched the proceedings.
Norris described the attack as lasting '10 seconds or less' and said he was the last to punch Stephen, hitting him two or three times. He apologised to black and ethnic minority communities for the 'large ripple effect' of the murder and expressed regret to Stephen's friend Duwayne Brooks, who was with him on the night he died.
