Gene Miller

Gene Edward Miller (September 16, 1928 – June 17, 2005) was an American investigative journalist from Evansville, Indiana, best known for his work with The Miami Herald. Miller won two Pulitzer Prizes for investigations that helped overturn wrongful murder convictions and free innocent people from prison.

Evansville and Bosse High School

Miller was born in Evansville, Indiana, in 1928 and attended Benjamin Bosse High School.

Miller later humorously recalled being cut on the first day of basketball tryouts at Bosse. He was also a musician, playing the oboe and earning recognition for his performances.

His journalism career also had early roots in Evansville. As a young man, Miller worked as a copyboy for The Evansville Press, earning $12 a week.

After leaving Evansville, Miller attended Indiana University, where he worked for the Indiana Daily Student. He graduated in 1950 with a degree in journalism.

Journalism Career

Miller began his professional newspaper career with the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette in 1950. He later served in the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps before working for The Wall Street Journal and the News Leader in Richmond, Virginia.

In 1957, Miller joined The Miami Herald, beginning an association with the newspaper that would last nearly five decades.

During his career, Miller covered some of the biggest American and international stories of his era, including the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Watergate, the Apollo space program, Kent State, Three Mile Island, Ted Bundy and the Jonestown massacre.

Miller became particularly respected for investigative reporting involving people who had been wrongfully convicted of crimes.

Pulitzer Prizes

Miller won his first Pulitzer Prize in 1967 for investigations involving Joe Shea and Mary Katherin Hampton, who had been wrongfully convicted of murder. His reporting helped bring attention to evidence demonstrating their innocence.

His most celebrated investigation involved Freddie Pitts and Wilbert Lee, two men who had been convicted of murder and sentenced to death in Florida.

Miller spent more than eight years investigating their case. His reporting exposed serious problems with their convictions and helped build the case for their release.

Pitts and Lee were eventually pardoned and released in 1975 after spending approximately 12 years in prison.

For his work, Miller received his second Pulitzer Prize in 1976. The Pulitzer committee honored his persistent reporting that led to the exoneration and release of the two men.

Miller’s investigations established him as one of the country’s leading journalists covering wrongful convictions and failures of the criminal justice system.

Later Career and Legacy

Miller remained a reporter and editor at The Miami Herald until 2001 and continued working with the newspaper afterward. In addition to his own reporting, he became known for mentoring younger journalists and helping develop other award-winning reporters.

He also wrote the nonfiction books 83 Hours ‘Til Dawn and Invitation to a Lynching.

Miller was inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame in 2002.

He died from cancer on June 17, 2005, at his home near Miami, Florida, at age 76.

From Bosse High School and The Evansville Press to a nearly five-decade career at The Miami Herald, Gene Miller became one of the most accomplished journalists produced by Evansville. His two Pulitzer Prizes and reporting that helped free wrongfully convicted prisoners remain the defining achievements of his career.