Richard Miles

Richard Miles was born April 26, 1975 to Mr. Richard and Thelma Miles. At a very young age, Richard’s mother re-married the now late, Bishop William Lloyd. Richard grew up in a close-knit family environment with two younger brothers, William and Emanuel and his older sister, Lashawnda. Richard attended the academically accepting Henry Wadsworth Academy, Skyline High School and Justin K. Kimball and graduated in 1993.

At the age of 19, Richard was wrongly arrested for murder and attempted murder. Convicted at the age of 20 and sentenced to 60 years, Richard lost a total of 15 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division, fighting for his life, innocence and freedom.  Richard’s family advocated on his behalf and eventually met the now late, Mrs. Joyce Ann Brown, Founder of MASS and Exoneree. Mrs. Brown joined the fight for Richard’s innocence eventually encouraged Centurion Ministries; the Princeton based innocence organization to accept his case.

While incarcerated, Richard excelled utilizing the limited resources available in prison. After losing his direct appeal, Richard sought education as his outlet and obtained an Associate Degree in Applied Science from Trinity Valley Community College along with multiple vocational certifications. In 2001, Richard was ordained as a minister by his father, the late Bishop William L. Lloyd and would eventually begin a Bible study on Coffield Unit in Tennessee Colony, Texas.  In 2007, Centurion, the innocence organization, accepted Richard’s case pro bono. Richard was released October 12, 2009 on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct, faulty scientific evidence and tainted identification. From 2009 to 2012, further investigation was conducted by the Conviction Integrity Unit lead. February 15, 2012, the Court of Criminal Appeals handed down a unanimous decision of Actual Innocence in the case of Richard Miles, Ex Parte Richard Miles (359 SW 3rd  647).  The ruling allowed Richard eligibility for compensation under Texas law for individuals that have been proven Actual Innocence. With these resources, Richard begin rebuilding his life after a 17 ½ year battle for his innocence. In June of 2012, Richard allocated a considerable amount of his compensation from the State of Texas to start the nonprofit, Miles of Freedom.  “Miles” is an acronym for (Motivating Inspiring Law-abiding Enthusiastic Successful). Today the mission of Miles of Freedom has grown to provide holistic support for individuals, families and communities impacted by incarceration.

Since his release and exoneration, Richard has been blessed to travel the nation telling his story of hope, determination and faith but also addressing the issues of mass incarceration, wrongful convictions and the need for productive reentry services. Richard’s journey and work has been highlighted with numerous awards, was first featured in the book Tested, and many other literary materials. His story was  featured on the Larry King Show and  the TV One documentary  series, Evidence of Innocence. In 2019, the journey of Richard Miles was shared on the international stage highlighting his accomplishments as one of the Top 10 CNN Hero’s. In 2020, Miles of Freedom was acknowledged for their community work during COVID by the North Texas Food Bank and received a Humanitarian Award from the City of Dallas (MLK Center). Most notably, September 1, 2021, the Richard Miles Act was passed into law in Texas. The Richard Miles Act addresses the accountability and timely disclosure of exculpatory evidence as it relates to arresting officer/agencies. Richard is currently enrolled in Paul Quinn College working towards his Bachelor in Business Administration. He also serves on the board of God’s Holy Church of Christ, Dallas Sheriff Community Partnership and Power in Action.

 Richard Miles life is now filled with his faith in God, family support, wife Latoya Miles and his beautiful daughter Raelyn Grace Miles. Richard’s future seems to have many more “miles of freedom”.