The exoneree unshackling a life of opportunity for former inmates

It might not be a momentous date in history. But for Richard Miles, 15 May 1994 is a day he’ll never forget. “I was arrested for a crime that I did not commit,” he says. At just 19 years old, Miles was sentenced to 60 years in prison for attempted murder in Tennessee. Despite being fully exonerated 18 years later, the damage was done. Miles left the system the same way he had entered it – as a prison number. Determined to lessen the obstacles people face after incarceration, Miles made it his mission to help ex-offenders rebuild their lives. 

After 15 years in prison, Miles won his long-fought freedom with the aid of the prison advocacy organisation Centurion Ministries in 2009. While overjoyed, he faced the onerous battle of starting his life from scratch. “I came home and the world was not as I knew it before,” Miles says. Still labeled a convicted felon, he couldn’t secure an apartment or job. These barriers make it impossible for federal offenders to transition back into society, and nearly half are rearrested for a new crime or parole violation after their release. Miles spent two and a half years contesting his conviction, and his case was the first non-DNA, non-recantation to be exonerated. But Miles knew others wouldn’t be so lucky. 

Using 15% of his restitution money, he founded Miles of Freedom to support and empower ex-offenders in South Dallas. “I knew that I would be back,” Miles says. “Not in the stance of a prisoner, but the embodiment of hope for anybody that’s struggling during incarceration or after.” With assistance from Stand Together, the non-profit has helped over 1 500 people find housing and jobs, and enrol in college. If they are still struggling to land on their feet after release, Miles of Freedom Lawn Care Service provides temporary employment. Miles and his team also upskill former inmates through a series of training programmes in financial literacy and computers. Giving ex-convicts a second chance, Miles is ensuring that no one gets lost in the system again. “Humans are not numbers or petty crimes,” Miles says. “We are individuals capable of extraordinary things.”