The Murder of Stephen Lawrence documentary: shows how a black British teenager named Stephen Lawrence (13 September 1974 — 22 April 1993) from Eltham, southeast London, who was stabbed to death while waiting for a bus on the evening of 22 April 1993.In 1999, an inquiry headed by Sir William Macpherson examined the original Metropolitan police investigation and concluded that the force was “institutionally racist”. The inquiry has been called ‘one of the most important moments in the modern history of criminal justice in Britain’. The report of the examination’s work and conclusions was published in 1999 as The Macpherson Report.
After the initial investigation, five suspects were arrested but never convicted. It was suggested during the course of investigation that the murder had a racist motive and that Lawrence was killed because he was black, and that the handling of the case by the police and Crown Prosecution Service was affected by issues of race, leading to an inquiry.
On 18 May 2011, it was announced that one of the original suspects, and another man, are to stand trial for the murder in the light of “new and substantial evidence” becoming available. A jury was selected on Monday 14 November 2011, and the trial started on the following day. In January 2012 2 of the murderers have been found guilty. The other murderers are due to be charged soon.