Huge New Doubts Over Stephen Lawrence Killers’ Forensic Convictions

Brit Dee, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

Fresh and substantial doubt has been cast over the recent convictions of David Norris and Gary Dobson, for the 1993 racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence.

In a previous article entitled Stephen Lawrence’s Murder: Has Justice Really Been Served? we detailed how Norris and Dobson were convicted predominantly on microscopic forensic evidence apparently discovered years after the crime, from items gathered from the suspects’ homes shortly after the murder.

The microscopic evidence apparently recovered by private firm LGC Forensics included a 0.5 mm wide spot of blood on the collar of a jacket belonging to Dobson, as well as fibres matching those taken from Stephen Lawrence’s clothes; Norris was convicted based on minute fibres and hairs found on a pair of his trousers and sweatshirt.

At the time it was noted that:

There are, however, significant questions surrounding the reliability of this forensic evidence. Items of clothing from both the accused and Stephen Lawrence were stored together, and as the protective packaging was not designed to last, the tape sealing the packages had lost its stickiness. The defence argued that blood flakes, fibres and hairs could have entered the packages due to this deteriorated packaging. Such fibres were likely to be in abundance in the packages containing Stephen Lawrence’s clothing, due to an accident and emergency nurse having cut off his clothes, apparently releasing a “shower” of material.

We further went on to detail how:

There are other important points to mention regarding the credibility of the new forensic evidence. Dobson’s jacket had at one point been removed from its packaging and laid on a cell floor to be photographed. Some of the items had not been immediately put into bags. In 1993, exhibits were mislabelled, and officers handling the exhibits had also visited the Lawrences at their home, suggesting the possibility of contamination.

Today it was astoundingly revealed that a rape case has this week collapsed, due to the aforementioned LGC Forensics admitting that a sample in its possession became so contaminated that it could not be offered in evidence. The defendant was acquitted after prosecutors decided they could no longer rely on LGC’s contaminated evidence, and The Guardian cites a “senior source” as bluntly stating that:

Potentially this has national implications. Hundreds of cases will have to be reviewed. We have no idea what the parameters will have to be. It’s serious – it’s dealing with the credibility of the system.

The evidence had become seriously contaminated during the testing process at LGC’s laboratory – exactly the claim made by the defence during Dobson’s and Norris’s recent murder trial. The judge in the trial, Mr Justice Treacy, even directed the jury that they should acquit both defendants unless they were sure scientific evidence allegedly tying them to the murder scene was not the result of contamination.

Clearly this latest revelation makes both Dobson’s and Norris’s convictions unsafe. As well as the dubious forensic evidence coming from a company whose admitted contamination of evidence may lead to “hundreds of convictions” being reviewed, there is no other evidence – besides hearsay evidence and racist comments made by the defendents during controversial covert surveillance – against the convicted men. Both Norris and Dobson have consistently denied murdering Stephen Lawrence, Dobson telling the jury, “You have condemned an innocent man here. I hope you can live with yourselves” as he was led down following his conviction.

Both men, who were sentenced to terms of 14 and 15 years, have lodged appeals against their convictions. Following the relentless efforts by the establishment to secure Dobson’s and Norris’s convictions, as well as their unceasing demonization by the mainstream media and pariah status in the eyes of the British public, it awaits to be seen whether they will receive a fair trial if and when their case goes to appeal.

Brit Dee runs an independent online radio station called Resistance Radio, which broadcasts daily news, views and analysis challenging the lies of our corrupt political and financial leaders, and the controlled corporate media, at http://www.resistradio.com.