The family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence have urged parole staff not to release one of his killers.
His father Neville and brother Stuart said in victim impact statements that they do not believe David Norris should walk free without revealing what happened on the night of the murder in 1993.
Stephen Lawrenceâs mother Baroness Doreen Lawrence said she fears for her familyâs safety and that it is her âfirm viewâ that he should not walk free.
A parole board hearing is taking place in public on Tuesday and Wednesday, and another day in private on Friday, to decide whether the 49-year-old should be freed, or moved to an open prison.
Norris was convicted of Stephen Lawrenceâs murder at the Old Bailey in 2011, and jailed for life with a minimum term of 14 years and three months in January 2012.
The minimum term expired in December 2024, and this is the first time that he has been considered for parole.
The hearing was told that the Justice Secretary will oppose release.
A series of victim impact statements from Stephen Lawrenceâs family were read out at the beginning of the hearing, which is being streamed from a prison to a room in the Royal Courts of Justice.
Baroness Lawrence was among those observing the hearing.
A legal representative read a statement for Neville Lawrence that said âjustice has not been doneâ if Norris is released without naming the other members of the gang who murdered his son.
He added that Norrisâs admission that he was at the murder scene ahead of proceedings âdid not come from genuine remorseâ as he is yet to name the other members of the gang.
Solicitor Imran Khan read a statement for Stephen Lawrenceâs brother Stuart, that said: âThis individual is fully aware of the truth, but has deliberately chosen to lie and remain silent.
âIf you have any uncertainties, I strongly encourage you to keep this individual in his current situation until he is ready to reveal the truth.â
Baroness Lawrence said Norris is a danger to the public and that it is her âfirm viewâ that he should not be released.
In an opening statement, chairwoman of the panel Cassie Williams quoted from the original sentencing remarks at Norrisâs murder trial.
She repeated Mr Justice Treacyâs finding that Stephen Lawrenceâs murder was âa terrible and evil crime and was committed by a racist thuggish gang of which David Norris was a memberâ.
Evidence at Norrisâs Old Bailey trial, which saw him convicted of murder alongside Gary Dobson, did not prove who wielded the knife, but the judge found that whoever had done so did with the pairâs âknowledge and approvalâ.
She told the hearing that Mr Lawrenceâs family âcontinue to be understandably devastated by his murderâ.
âStephen being murdered in the way he was, and the issues which arose afterwards with the investigation, had a profound impact on society,â she said.
The Parole Board panel will assess the risk that he poses, she told the hearing.
Ms Williams added: âIt is important to highlight that it is not the purpose of an oral hearing to conduct a retrial in this case or to seek to punish David Norris over and above the sentence imposed by the court.
âThe panel makes an assessment of risk.
âWe are acutely aware that we cannot change what happened to Stephen Lawrence.â
A prison offender manager told the hearing that Norris was inspired by a documentary featuring Neville Lawrence to finally admit that he was at the scene of Stephenâs killing.
Norris, who now maintains that he punched Stephen but did not stab him, said that the âforgivenessâ Neville Lawrence showed had âstuck withâ him.
The hearing was told that he has engaged in activities focusing on curbing racism and violence while in prison.
But the prison offender manager also said that he had called a female nurse âa horrible c***â and that she would not recommend release.
She said Norris should be moved to less restrictive prison conditions first.
