Sir Lionel Alfred Luckhoo (2 March 1914 – 12 December 1997) was a Guyanese politician, diplomat, and well-known lawyer, famed for his 245 consecutive successful defences in murder cases. He was the brother of the last Governor-General of Guyana, Sir
Edward Luckhoo
Sir Edward Victor Luckhoo OR (24 May 1912 – 3 March 1998) was a Guyanese politician that was the last Governor-General of Guyana, and briefly the acting head of state of the Co‑operative Republic of Guyana on its formation in 1970.
Famil ...
.
Life and legal career
Luckhoo's grandfather, Moses Luckhoo, was one of many Indians brought to Guyana as indentured labourers in the sugar cane industry in the mid-19th century. In 1899 Sir Lionel's father, Edward Alfred Luckhoo, became the first Indian solicitor of Guyana.
Luckhoo was born in
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...
,
British Guiana
British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana.
The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...
, and was one of three sons and two daughters born into a prominent family of lawyers. His mother was Evelyn Maude Mungal-Singh, and his sisters were Ena Luckhoo and Renee Luckhoo. His two brothers, Edward Victor Luckhoo and Claude Lloyd Luckhoo, became
Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...
s.
He was educated at Queen's College, Georgetown, Guyana. Then he began studying medicine at St. Thomas' Hospital in England but quickly felt squeamish about surgical procedures. He shifted over to legal studies and was called to the English bar in the
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...
in 1940. At the same time that Allied troops were evacuating from
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Luckhoo left England for his homeland. He entered into a solicitor's practice with one of his brothers in the firm Luckhoo and Luckhoo.
He maintained his private legal practice spanning most of the years from 1940 to 1985, and became a
Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...
in 1954. His reputation earned him an entry in the ''
Guinness Book of Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' (1990) where he is dubbed the world's "most successful lawyer". The record is for obtaining as a defence trial lawyer 245 successive murder acquittals. In a few instances his clients were found guilty in jury trials, but were acquitted in appeal cases. He also practised as a barrister in England and later served as a judge of the Supreme Court of Guyana.
Part of his courtroom technique is reported in Fred Archer's biography of Sir Lionel Luckhoo:
:"Pick out two individuals. Look for one who is nodding his head and seems to be agreeing with you; then seek out another who is turning his head away because you do not convince him. Speak first to the one who is nodding. When you think you have won him over completely, move on to the one who appears dubious. Concentrate on him, look him in the eye make him feel that you are eschewing everything else to hold his attention because the life of your client is in his hands and that he must be convinced, as he ought to be convinced, that your man is innocent and deserves an acquittal." (''Sir Lionel'', p. 33)
He also came to notoriety as the legal personal representative of the Reverend
Jim Jones
James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide", ...
. Jones was the founder and leader of the People's Temple Church, and had left California in the 1970s to establish a commune in Guyana known as
Jonestown
The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, a U.S.–based cult under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became internationall ...
. A dispute arose between Jones and two former members, Timothy Stoen and Grace Stoen. The Stoens alleged that Jones was holding their child, John Victor Stoen, in the commune. Jones maintained he was the biological father and acknowledged Grace Stoen was the child's mother. The Stoens had obtained an order for custody of the child in the California Superior Court in August 1977. As the Stoens commenced legal proceedings in Georgetown to have the court order enforced in January 1978, Jones made contact by short-wave radio with Sir Lionel Luckhoo. Jones threatened that he, John Victor, and the whole commune would commit suicide rather than have the boy released. Luckhoo managed to talk Jones out of taking this course of action at that time. However, on 18 November 1978, a large number of members of the commune died in a mass suicide, and John Victor Stoen was among the dead.
Politician and diplomat
In addition to his legal practice, Luckhoo also had a political career. He was the head of four trade unions, including the
Manpower Citizens' Association
The Manpower Citizens' Association was a trade union and political party in British Guiana.
History
The MPCA was first registered in 1937, and was initially led by Ayube Mohamed Edun.Legislative Council between 1952 and 1953. He served as the Mayor of Georgetown in 1955, 1956, 1960 and 1961. In the late 1950s he established the conservative political party the National Labour Front, which contested the 1957 general elections. However, Luckhoo was unsuccessful in his bid to be elected as Prime Minister, and his party only won one seat.
He was also involved in the negotiations for independence of both Guyana and
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
. He was appointed High Commissioner for Guyana and Barbados in Britain (1966–1970), and was also Ambassador for both countries. From 1967 to 1970 he served as joint ambassador for Guyana and Barbados in France, Germany and the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. During this time he was joking referred to as 'the only man at the British
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
who had two-votes.'
He served as the President of the Guyana Olympic Association from 1974 to 1979. He was also a notable figure in the Guyanese horse racing industry, and owned several race horses. He also owned an island and a resort hotel.
He was married to Sheila Chamberlin, and had two sons and three daughters with her. This marriage ended in divorce in 1972, and he remarried Jeannie Willis Carter. His second wife is a genealogist.
British honours
In
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(CBE), was made a
knight bachelor
The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...
in 1966, and received the (Knight Commander of St Michael and St George) in 1969.
Religious beliefs
Luckhoo was raised in a nominal Christian setting. However, at age 64, he experienced a profound
religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...
at a meeting he attended on 7 November 1978 that was sponsored by the
Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International
The Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International (FGBMFI) is a fellowship of lay businessmen. Its main purpose is to bring interest to the Christian gospel. Theologically, the organization has its roots in Pentecostalism.
The headquarters i ...
(FGBMFI); thereafter, he actively participated in the
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
movement of Christianity.
After his conversion, he established Luckhoo Ministries in
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, and became an itinerant speaker about his Christianity in Guyana, England, Australia and the United States of America. He wrote several booklets where he presented
Christian apologetics
Christian apologetics ( grc, ἀπολογία, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity.
Christian apologetics has taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in ...
arguments to persuade others about faith in Christ. Booklets included titles such as ''What is Your Verdict?'', ''The Question Answered: Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?'', and ''The Quran is not the Word of God''. He also co-wrote an apologetics-based novel, ''The Silent Witness''. Luckhoo's contributions to
apologetics
Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...
identify him with both the evidentialist school of thought, and the tradition known as legal or juridical apologetics. His spiritual life and apologetics contributions have been discussed in the writings of
Ross Clifford
Ross Richard Clifford AM (born 1951) is an Australian Baptist theologian, political commentator, radio personality and author. A former lawyer who later joined the ministry, Clifford became a campaigner on moral issues while a suburban Sydney pa ...
and
Lee Strobel
Lee may refer to:
Name
Given name
* Lee (given name), a given name in English
Surname
* Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee:
** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname
** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese s ...
.
See also
*
Politics of Guyana
The politics of Guyana takes place in a framework of a representative democratic assembly-independent republic, whereby the President of Guyana is the head of government and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the President ...
British honours system
In the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories, personal bravery, achievement, or service are rewarded with honours. The honours system consists of three types of award:
*Honours are used to recognise merit in terms of achievement a ...
*
British and Commonwealth orders and decorations
This article concerns the orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms awarded by the sovereign in right of each nation.
Awards are listed by order of wear.
Antigua and Barbuda
* Order of the National Hero
* Order of the Nation
* Order of Me ...
Biographical sources
* ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', 1990 edition, p. 211.
* Fred Archer, Sir Lionel ' (Costa Mesa: Gift Publications, 1980).
* Ross Clifford, ''Leading Lawyers Look at The Resurrection'' (Sutherland: Albatross Books/Oxford: Lion, 1991).
* Lee Strobel, ''The Case for Christ'' (Grand Rapids: Zondervan), 1998.
Bibliography
* ''The Silent Witness: A Novel'' (with John R. Thompson) (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995).