Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, both deny murdering Stephen Lawrence
6:13pm UK, Wednesday December 28, 2011
Jurors in the Stephen Lawrence murder trial have been warned not to let sympathy or anger affect their verdicts.
They are expected to begin their deliberations on Thursday at the end of a six-week trial.
In his summing up, Mr Justice Treacy told them: "Emotion such as sympathy for the Lawrence family has no part to play.
"Equally anger at the nature of the attack on Stephen Lawrence cannot guide your decision."
He also told them that they should not expect evey question they had to be answered, or every loose end tied up.
"This is real life, it's not a detective novel," he said.
He went through the forensic evidence in great detail, the collection of Stephen's clothes - cut off him at the hospital - and the seizure of garments from the two suspects Gary Dobson and David Norris on their arrest two weeks later.
The prosecution says that blood, fibres and hair from Stephen found on the suspects' clothes - during a cold case review in 2007 - shows they were part of the white group who stabbed Stephen in a racist attack in 1993.
The defence lawyers say the evidence got transferred innocently through years of mishandling and storage by police and scientists using "primitive" methods.
Key witness Rosalyn Hammond had reviewed the history of the exhibits and said the chances of such cross-contamination was "unrealistic".
The judge told jurors Ms Hammond worked with the scientists who discovered the new evidence and they would have to decide if she was truly independent.
The judge said he jury must also consider whether the defendants were present at the time of the attack and participated in it.
If at least one member of the group intended to kill or cause serious harm to Mr Lawrence, then the attackers would be guilty of murder, the judge said.
But if they intended to cause injury falling short of serious bodily harm, then the group would be guilty of manslaughter.
Mr Justice Treacy said: "Manslaughter is an alternative verdict to murder but it should only, and I stress that word, be considered if you have found the defendant in question not guilty of murder."
He then went through the various witness accounts that the jury has heard, including details of any description of the attackers that they gave.
There were some differences in the account given by Mr Lawrence's best friend Duwayne Brooks and the other witnesses - he said he had been chased by one of the attackers.
The judge said the contrasting accounts could be because Mr Brooks felt "a subconscious need to justify himself for running off at the time that he and Stephen were attacked".
:: Replay: Catch up with the latest updates in our blog
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario