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Kelly Giles obtained his Juris Doctor Degree from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1989. Kelly practiced U.S. immigration law for twenty three years, until late 2012, and continues to practice Canadian immigration law. He wrote and published his Darwin's Desert trilogy of poetry books between 2010 and 2012, Swimming in a Thunderstorm, Surfing the Tsunami and Surrendering to Transcendence, and has published multiple Six Word Memoirs on the Smith Magazine website. In 2014, he gave a talk entitled ""Heart Surgery for the Legal Profession"" to a class of USC Law Professor Jody Armour's law school students related to his upcoming memoir. He also performed as a featured poet at both Cobalt Poets and at Michael Jasorka's Hello World Zine Release Party, and has been a featured guest on both Jill Delbridge's Artist's Lounge podcast and Apryl Skies's Edgar Allen Poet podcast. For the past several years, he has been a member of Aim for the Heart's Microphone Sessions and Heart Sessions poetry and hip-hop workshops, founded by Tupac Shakur's manager Leila Steinberg in 1996. He currently lives in Culver City, California, volunteers with Amnesty International, Reverb and Headcount, and is a member of UCLA Extension's Writer's Program Now, Film Independent, and NewFilmMakers LA. Killing Justice is his debut memoir. He is passionate about raising awareness about mental illness and the criminal justice system and encouraging others on their healing journey, especially through the arts. You can read more of his work at www.kellygiles.com.
"""Kelly Giles descends from the highs of being an attorney to the lows of being a felon. He creates Kel-Dar, his version of Vonnegut's Billy Pilgrim, in an attempt to escape the absurdity of his life. He's also trying to escape his feelings of never belonging, from having been adopted from a foster home at eleven months by Mom and Pops. But his long overdue diagnosis of PTSD finally helps him understand that belonging is overrated, and that his seven year old darkly comic sci-fi storyteller self is in need of resurrection."" -Andy Behrman, author of Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania ""The prison pages reminded me of Hunter S. Thompson."" -Judit Maull, film & TV Producer, Happy Madison Productions ""Killing Justice is a rollercoaster that will have you hoping this is just fiction during the most painful moments, but it will also have you grateful that it is a true story when you see the rainbow after the storm. I highly recommend this memoir for inspiration, knowledge, and hope. It is a real, godly, and magnificent read. Imperfectly perfect."" -Deanna Pak, actress, filmmaker, and author of Hungry in Hollywood: How to Be a Working Actor ""Justice is considered to be one of the hallmarks of freedom in a democracy, but the convoluted system that we live under often fails, taking away a freedom that most of us take for granted. Killing Justice chronicles the heartfelt story of Kelly Giles, an honest man victimized by this tragic failure of the justice system, who managed to overcome the adversity of wrongful incarceration, and ultimately found his way to true freedom."" -Matthew J. Pallamary, author of Land Without Evil and Spirit Matters ""This book is a roller coaster ride of someone who was working for justice and safety for those who were oppressed and then became a victim of injustice himself while doing so. It is inspiring to know there are lawyers like Kelly Giles who did not seek wealth or power but rather dedicated himself to work to rescue those who are poor and powerless...One of the great mysteries of life is often around the question of why do bad things happen to good people-and Kelly's journey is one of those mysteries-but ends with some answers to the mystery and his moving forward despite the hurdles thrown at him by life's challenges."" -Bill Watanabe, community organizer and former director of Little Tokyo Service Center ""Kelly provides us with the details required to be immersed in this harrowing story of how an attorney's life exploded into a nightmare. We walk with him as he begins to understand how he became linked, unknowingly, to a criminal enterprise that led to incarceration. We support him as he analyzes how his lifelong desperation to belong, which had driven him to become a lawyer, eventually led to the end of that career. And we root for him as he finds a new path forward."" -Judge Mary Beth O'Connor, author of From Junkie to Judge: One Woman's Triumph Over Trauma and Addiction ""Killing Justice is at turns tragic, haunting, and ultimately, inspirational. Giles takes the reader on a powerful journey which shows how truth, faith, and love can overcome damn near anything."" -Trey Dowell, author of The Protectors"
