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Neville Lawrence urged Norris and Dobson to give up accomplices to his son's murder
Two men found guilty of the 1993 racist murder of Stephen Lawrence in south-east London have been jailed for life.
Gary Dobson will serve a minimum of 15 years and two months, and David Norris 14 years and three months.The pair were sentenced at the Old Bailey under old guidelines and as if they were juveniles because both were under 18 when the black teenager died.
The judge, Mr Justice Treacy, described the crime as a "murder which scarred the conscience of the nation".
Dobson, 36, and Norris, 35, were the first people convicted over the fatal attack on Mr Lawrence by a group of white youths near a bus stop in Eltham on 22 April 1993.
Speaking outside court, Stephen Lawrence's mother Doreen said the minimum terms were quite low but she recognised "the judges' hands were tied" and thanked him for his sentencing remarks which recognised the stress the family had suffered for 18 years.
'No hiding behind ages'
"He recognised the men and what they had done and there is no hiding behind their ages," she said.
"It's the beginning of starting a new life. We have been in limbo for so long."
Stephen Lawrence's father, Neville, said: "This is only one step in a long, long journey."
He thanked the police, the judge and the jury, and called on the pair to "give up" the other people involved in his son's murder.
At an earlier media conference on Wednesday, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "The other people involved in the murder of Stephen Lawrence should not rest easily in their beds."
He added: "We are still investigating this case and I would just like to take this opportunity, if anybody out there has any more information or any evidence, even after all this time, please tell us then we'll do the rest."
Neville Lawrence was greeted by wellwishers outside the Old Bailey Co-ordinated attack
Passing sentence, Mr Justice Treacy said the murder was committed for no other reason than racial hatred.
He said Mr Lawrence was "completely blameless and helpless" and the "gravity of this case is high".
But he added that the sentences were lower than some would expect as he was "constrained by Parliament" and he could not apply tougher sentencing rules drafted in 2003.
Continue reading the main story Mr Justice Treacy said his hands were tied by Parliament when it came to the minimum terms that Dobson and Norris will serve as part of their life sentences. That's a judicial shot across the bows to anyone who suggests he has been lenient.
The pair had to be sentenced as the teenagers they were - not as the men they are now.
Both men will be detained at "Her Majesty's Pleasure" - the technical term for a life sentence for juveniles.
The minimum terms may appear low, but sentencing law in 1993 did not properly account for racially aggravating circumstances.
Dobson and Norris will only be released if the Parole Board decides they are not a threat to society. They must prove they are rehabilitated.
But if and when Dobson and Norris walk the streets of south London again, it will be forever under the threat of recall to prison.
The pair had to be sentenced as the teenagers they were - not as the men they are now.
Both men will be detained at "Her Majesty's Pleasure" - the technical term for a life sentence for juveniles.
The minimum terms may appear low, but sentencing law in 1993 did not properly account for racially aggravating circumstances.
Dobson and Norris will only be released if the Parole Board decides they are not a threat to society. They must prove they are rehabilitated.
But if and when Dobson and Norris walk the streets of south London again, it will be forever under the threat of recall to prison.
"I'm sure that you knew one of your group was armed with a knife that night," the judge told Dobson and Norris.
He said it was "a brief but co-ordinated attack, a racist taunt, a charge and a swallowing up of Stephen Lawrence"."The evidence does not prove you had the knife, but the holder had it with your approval," he said. "It does not matter the knife was not in your hands. You - Dobson - repeatedly lied as part of group loyalty."
Mr Justice Treacy said the encounter was not premeditated but Dobson and Norris had been prepared to attack if the opportunity arose.
He said there could be no mitigation for contrition because none had been shown. He said the pair were streetwise and not immature when the crime was committed.
Mr Justice Treacy said: "Stephen Lawrence is not the only victim of this crime. His family, (two parents, a brother and a sister), whose victim impact statements I have read, have been most grievously affected.
"So has his friend Duwayne Brooks. Of that I have no doubt."
Mr Brooks, who was with Mr Lawrence on the night of the attack, had wept while giving evidence at the trial.
The Lawrence case had previously "shamed" police, he said, but they could now be commended for their work, as could the forensic scientists involved in obtaining the evidence which allowed the prosecution of Dobson and Norris to take place.Continued
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