Following the Stephen Lawrence
inquiry, Joel Edwards wrote in January 1999, «The name of Stephen Lawrence will go down as a sad indictment on racism in our society in general and the
police force in
particular.
«We look forward to the Metropolitan
Police investigation into this
particular case but the wider public interest still requires a full judicial
inquiry into all British involvement in extraordinary rendition.»
We hold, therefore, that where, as here, the investigation is no longer a general
inquiry into an unsolved crime, but has begun to focus on a
particular suspect, the suspect has been taken into
police custody, the
police carry out a process of interrogations that lends itself to eliciting incriminating statements, the suspect has requested and been denied an opportunity to consult with his lawyer, and the
police have not effectively warned him of his absolute constitutional right to remain silent, the accused has been denied «the Assistance of Counsel» in violation of the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution as «made obligatory upon the States by the Fourteenth Amendment,» Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. at 342, and that no statement elicited by the
police during the interrogation may be used against him at a criminal trial.