Stephen Adrian Lawrence (born 13 September 1974) was an 18-year-old black British student from Woolwich, southeast London, who was murdered in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus on Well Hall Road in Eltham, on the evening of 22 April 1993.
Six assailants forced Lawrence down to the ground, then stabbed him to a depth of about 5 inches (13 cm) on both sides of the front of his body, in the right collarbone and left shoulder. Both wounds severed the axillary arteries before penetrating the lung.
While the attackers disappeared down Dickson Road, Lawrence ran in the direction of Shooters Hill but collapsed after running 130 yards (120 m). He bled to death soon afterwards.
In the days following Stephen’s murder, several local residents came forward to provide names of suspects and an anonymous note was left on a police car windscreen and in a telephone box naming a local gang as the five main suspects.
The suspects were Gary Dobson, brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt, Luke Knight, and David Norris.
After the initial investigation, five suspects were arrested, but at the time, they were not charged – even though the five had previously been involved in racist knife attacks around the Eltham area.
A private prosecution subsequently initiated by Stephen’s family failed to secure convictions for any of the accused.
It was suggested during the investigation that Stephen Lawrence was killed because he was black, and that the handling of the case by the Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service was affected by issues of race.
A vigorous campaign by Stephen’s family and sections of the media ensured the case retained a high profile, and a later official enquiry into the lack of convictions concluded that the Metropolitan Police force was guilty of “institutional racism”.
Two of the perpetrators – Gary Dobson and David Norris – were eventually convicted of murder on 3 January 2012.
Jamie Acourt was never convicted of the murder, but was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2018 for leading a large-scale drug smuggling operation. Neil Acourt was also never convicted of the murder, but was previously jailed in 2018 for his role in the same drug plot as Acourt.
Luke Knight was never convicted of Stephen’s murder and has remained free.
Matthew White was named as a key suspect by police, but died in 2021 before he could be brought to justice.
While the attackers disappeared down Dickson Road, Lawrence ran in the direction of Shooters Hill but collapsed after running 130 yards (120 m). He bled to death soon afterwards.
After the initial investigation, five suspects were arrested, but at the time, they were not charged – even though the five had previously been involved in racist knife attacks around the Eltham area.
