About Richard
Richard Phillips spent more years behind bars than any other wrongfully imprisoned person in American history. He was convicted of a crime he did not commit, carrying a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole… EVER.
He was born in Alabama and left to be raised by an aunt. At age five, his mother, living in an attic in the ghetto of Detroit, sent for him. On the city's north-end streets, Richard began to learn the hard lessons of survival. Uncontrollable, Richard dropped out of high school in the 10th grade and went to the streets for family ties.
At 18, Richard was fed up with street life, enrolled in technical school, and learned how to type extremely fast. This skill helped him secure an excellent job at Chrysler, and he began a new life with a wife and two children. Shortly afterward, Richard was imprisoned for armed robbery, murder, and conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree. Crimes that he did not do. He was framed by his best friend from his days on the streets.
After serving 38 years and countless appeals and denials, another accused man admitted that he lied. After a series of appeals by the University of Michigan Innocence Clinic, Richard was granted a new trial and ultimately released.
While in prison, Richard began to paint to escape the world around him and to keep him from losing his mind. Over nearly 30 years, Richard created a moving, thought-provoking, diverse body of art, including Master Reproductions.
Richard lives alone with his dog, Spike, in a North Western Ranch Suburb.