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British men sentenced to life for killing son of Jamaican

Published:Wednesday | January 4, 2012 | 8:58 AM

Two British men have been sentenced to life in prison for the 1993 racist murder of Stephen Lawrence in London.



Lawrence’s father is Jamaican.



Thirty-six year-old Gary Dobson and 35-year-old David Norris were found guilty yesterday.



Dobson is to serve a minimum of 15 years and two months while Norris is to serve 14 years and three months.



They pair were sentenced earlier today at the Old Bailey as if they were juveniles because both were under 18 when the black teenager died.



The judge, Justice Treacy, described the crime as a murder which scarred the conscience of the nation.



Norris and Dobson were the first people convicted over the fatal attack on Lawrence by a group of white youths near a bus stop in Eltham in 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.



Meanwhile, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe says despite the convictions the case is still being investigated to find the others involved in the murder.



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