The investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence has been shelved by police after 27 years.
Stephen's parents, Doreen and Neville, have said that they are "sad" and "disappointed" that the investigation surrounding their son's murder is no more.
Stephen was involved in a racially-aggravated murder on April 22, 1993, after being attacked by a group of five men in Eltham, South East London.
Police have investigated the murder and have said that the "identified lines of inquiry have been completed". The case has now moved into an "inactive phase".
David Norris and Gary Dobson are both serving life sentences after being convicted of the murder of Stephen almost 20 years after the crime. The other gang members have never faced justice.
"I am disappointed to hear this news but not surprised," said Neville Lawrence, Stephen's dad. "I had hoped that the conviction of two of the killers in 2012 would lead to new evidence coming to light and prosecution of the other suspects. This has unfortunately not happened and, over the last few years, I have had to come to terms with the reality that some of the killers of Stephen may never be brought to justice for what they did."
People took to Twitter to share their upset surrounding the case being made inactive:
You can’t sit here and tell us that institutional racism doesn’t exist when 3/5 people who murdered Stephen Lawrence is walking free today.
Rest easy, Stephen Lawrence. They want us to forget but never that.
Very disappointed but not surprised to hear the police are closing the Stephen Lawrence case . The metropolitan police failed at every point in this investigation and displayed the systemic racism thats ingrained in the police force 🙄
Ah hold on a minute, so the case for Madeline McCann can stay active and waste millions of pounds a year but they want to make Stephen Lawrence case inactive? I don’t qwhite understand but ok https://t.co/7Wm7JpVO5K
Nice timing of the met police to declare the Stephen Lawrence case inactive. Kick in the teeth for a community already down and fighting injustices. Bastards.
