They Died 2021

30 THEY DIED 2021 Christopher Thomas/ Gleaner Writer A TTORNEY-AT-LAW Roy Fairclough, one of western Jamaica’s most prominent lawyers and a member of Jamaica’s Legal Aid Council, died on Sunday morning following a brief period of illness. Fairclough, who was in his early 70s and had been practising law since 1975, passed away peacefully at the Montego Bay Hospital in Mount Salem, St James, shortly after 8 a.m., surrounded by family members and representatives of the Cornwall Bar Association (CBA). CBA President Michael Hemmings remembered the senior attorney as an advocate for the development of Jamaica’s legal system. “Mr Fairclough was a great colleague, a friend, a mentor and a willing aid for us all at the CBA. He was a fierce and well-respected advocate, and he assisted in the development of the legal jurisprudence,” said Hemmings. “He will be truly missed by us all.” Fairclough was one of western Jamaica’s most recognisable and well-renowned lawyers, with his law firm located in downtown Montego Bay, where he practised alongside fellow attorney Tamika Spencer-Anderson. His keynote legal endeavours included his 2010 and 2011 representation of reputed Stone Crusher gang leader Eldon Calvert on multiple counts of murder reportedly committed in Salt Spring, St James; and his 2017 representation of Sylvan Reid, then councillor for the Salt Spring division, on the charge of causing death by dangerous driving in relation to the death of Jevaughn Whitmore, son of Reggae Boyz coach Theodore Whitmore. Most recently, Fairclough represented attorney Tara Morgan in the 2019 case of the loss of 19 firearms and a large quantity of ammunition from her family’s Montego Bay-based security company, before Morgan changed attorneys. Outside of the courtroom, Fairclough was known for his advocacy in 2014 for reparations to be made to the local Rastafarian community for the injustices they suffered arising from the infamous Coral Gardens incident of 1963. editorial@gleanerjm.com P U B L I S H E D AU G U S T 1 6 , 2 0 2 1 “Mr Fairclough was a great colleague, a friend, a mentor and a willing aid for us all at the CBA. He was a fierce and well- respected advocate, and he assisted in the development of the legal jurisprudence.” MoBay attorney Roy Fairclough passes