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 ...

, 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 countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

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 I ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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

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 worl ...

'' (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 Supreme may refer to: Entertainment * Supreme (character), a comic book superhero * ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film * Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer * "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams * The Supremes, Motown-e ...

. 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, and served in the 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 The National Labour Front (NLF) was a political party in Guyana. History The NLF was established by Lionel Luckhoo in 1956 after a split in the United Democratic Party.Odeen Ishmael (2002Cheddi Jagan - Glimpses of an Internationalist/ref> Luc ...

, 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 estima ...

. 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 C ...

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

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 her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

1962 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1962 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made "on the oc ...

, Luckhoo was made a

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 ...

(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 ...

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 ...

(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 interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

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. Accord ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, 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 an ...

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 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 ...

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).

References

External links

* Electronic versions of six booklets by Sir Lionel Luckhoo about faith, apologetics and belie

* A recording of Sir Lionel Luckhoo's testimon

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luckhoo, Lionel 1914 births 1997 deaths Alumni of Queen's College, Guyana Ambassadors of Barbados to France Ambassadors of Barbados to Germany Ambassadors of Barbados to the Netherlands Ambassadors of Guyana to France Ambassadors of Guyana to Germany Ambassadors of Guyana to the Netherlands Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Guyanese evangelicals 20th-century Guyanese judges Guyanese knights High Commissioners of Barbados to the United Kingdom High Commissioners of Guyana to the United Kingdom Indo-Guyanese people Knights Bachelor Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Mayors of Georgetown, Guyana People from Fort Worth, Texas Guyanese politicians of Indian descent People from New Amsterdam, Guyana 20th-century King's Counsel