Lawrence's mother says police failed him

LONDON, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Stephen Lawrence's killers should have been tried 18 years ago, his mother said Tuesday after two men were found guilty in London of the racist murder.

Doreen Lawrence accused police of botching the investigation, saying they "failed miserably," The Daily Telegraph reported. Neville Lawrence, in a statement released by his lawyer, urged Gary Dobson and David Norris -- who were convicted Tuesday of killing Lawrence -- to testify against others involved in his son's death.

Lawrence, an 18-year-old high school student who hoped to study architecture, bled to death on a South London street in 1993 after he was set upon by a gang of white teenagers and stabbed. An inquest found he was the victim of "a completely unprovoked racist attack."

"If the police had done their job properly, I would have spent the last 18 years grieving for my son rather than fighting to get his killers to court," Doreen Lawrence said.

A 1999 investigation into police handling of the case determined the Metropolitan Police were "institutionally racist."

Because Dobson was 17 in 1993 and Norris 16, they face a minimum of 12 years in prison, while adults would face at least 25 years. Investigators believe at least three others were involved in the attack.