The case of Stephen Lawrence

Stephen Lawrence, a black eighteen-year-old, was murdered in a London suburb in 1993 by several white assailants. Lawrence was beaten and stabbed while waiting for a bus. Five young men were arrested and two were charged, but the case did not come to court despite three police investigations. Lawrence's family began a private prosecution but it was dismissed due to the judge characterizing the chief witness as unreliable. The inquest into Lawrence's death found the five white men responsible, but this was not a guilty verdict. Courts continue to suffer from racism.