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The mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence talks about justice, forgiveness and his memory

Despite overwhelming evidence against the five men suspected of killing black teenager Stephen Lawrence in a vicious, racist attack, in 1993, the suspects are still free. But a recent BBC documentary alleged that a detective involved in the investigation into the Stephen's murder, deliberately sabotaged the inquiry.

Stephen's mother, Doreen Lawrence, also offered her account of the past 13 years since her son's death in her recently published book, And Still I Rise. From her family's own suspicions of police corruption, to the breakdown of her marriage, to caring for her two other children,

Mrs Lawrence's tale of loss and injustice is heartbreaking - but her strength is inspiring...

Q: Do you believe that Stephen's killers will, one day, be brought to justice?

A: Unless there's a miracle out there, I don't know if that can happen. I think that those boys will take their crime to their graves. The police have got no new evidence. And do those boys look like the type who will confess? I doubt that very much. People saw from that documentary how those boys behaved with that cocky swagger. It's as if they have no conscience. I will continue to fight for justice and yes, I want to see justice served. But being totally consumed with this case would make me very unhappy and make people think that that's all I talk about and all I care about. So I have to focus on other things as well and not let those evil boys consume my thoughts.

Q: What do you think of the mothers of the men suspected of murdering Stephen?

A: I've seen them in courtrooms on a number of occasions and they look evil. So I guess evil produced evil. If one of my children committed such a crime, I couldn't condone that. I would tell them that they have to pay for their crime. A long time ago, I came face to face with one of the boy's mothers in a shop. It's only because my daughter was nearby that I didn't shout out 'this is the mother of the boy who murdered my son.' Those mothers can walk around and no one knows who they are. I wanted people to know who she was so that she'd be forced to walk with her head hung in shame. I want those mothers to feel ashamed of what their sons have done. As mothers, they should be able to empathise with another mother's loss. But they just don't care.

Q: Do you think you could ever forgive the murderers?

A: I believe you can only forgive someone who does wrong if they show remorse. So right now, I have no forgiveness for them. My son was 10 times better than all of them - my son had a future. I do believe in God and therefore, I do believe that if justice isn't done here on earth, it will be done when they cross over. So I don't walk around with hatred for them. But turn the other cheek? No.

Q: Are you able to explain what caused the breakdown of your marriage?

A: If anybody had told me at that time that somewhere down the line, Neville and I would separate and I would be on my own, I wouldn't have believed them. That thought never entered my mind. But as time went on, I did notice a difference in our relationship. In the early stages, I felt that it was a strain that had been caused by Stephen's death- Neville was grieving in his way. But then, I realised the gap between us was just getting wider and wider, but I still needed to look after my other children and focus on them. The gap continued to widen and I got more and more unhappy and more and more lonely, so eventually, you have to just say 'enough is enough.'

Q: Do you still keep in touch?

Contact is minimal.

Q: Do you have any thoughts on Stephen's friend Duwayne Brooks, who was with Stephen at the time of his murder?

A: I have no thoughts about Duawyne Brooks. He's said things about me in the past that weren't true but if that's what he believes, that's what he believes. I didn't know him before Stephen was murdered, I don't know him now and I don't wish to know him. I still maintain that if Stephen had been with the young man who I perceived as his best friend on the night that he died, things would have been different. If Stephen had been with that friend, I feel that I would know the information that I wanted to know. I wanted to know what Stephen's last words were as he lay dying. Did he know he was dying? Did he ask for me? I wanted to know those things and I think that friend would have been able to tell me those things. Even now, he'll still recall to me memories he has of Stephen from their childhood.

Q: How would you describe Stephen?

A: He was an extrovert - he liked to receive attention. So he really liked to perform. He also enjoyed running. One memory I have is of a day when it was Stephen's turn to do the washing-up. The children all had their chores to do and they took it in turns to do particular chores. It turned out that it was Stephen's turn to do the washing up on Christmas Day, one year. And you know how many dishes there are to wash on Christmas Day. We had a dishwasher so it was mainly pots that he had to wash. He couldn't believe the amount of pots he had to do, so he insisted that I took a picture of him with all the pots. Stephen was no angel and we had our disagreements when he got to the stage where he wanted to do his own thing but I was still protective over him. One time he said to me, 'Mum you know what your problem is? You care too much.' I wouldn't dispute that.

And Still I Rise is out now, published by Faber and Faber

Published: 08 August 2006
Issue: 1230

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