{"id":54383,"date":"2025-03-04T18:07:42","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T23:07:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=54383"},"modified":"2025-03-04T18:07:59","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T23:07:59","slug":"grady-judd-signals-hes-fine-with-exonerating-leo-schofield-politicians-should-listen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2025\/03\/04\/grady-judd-signals-hes-fine-with-exonerating-leo-schofield-politicians-should-listen\/","title":{"rendered":"Grady Judd signals he’s fine with exonerating Leo Schofield; politicians should listen"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I am also requesting any public records related to an internal “review” of the Schofield case that State Attorney Brian Haas claims he ordered back in 2016 or 2017. We’ll see if any exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Billy Townsend<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone with interest in overturning Leo Schofield\u2019s wrongful conviction \u2014 or just in a powerful human story of human endurance, justice, and grace \u2014 should read Richard Bockman\u2019s extraordinary recent update on Leo<\/a> in the Tampa Bay Times.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It includes so many powerful and important tidbits about the status of the case, now that Leo has been paroled (but not exonerated) for a murder he didn\u2019t commit. Mostly, Bockman\u2019s skillful reporting makes it clear that everybod<\/em>y<\/strong> obviously knows Leo is innocent, especially including the people who put him in prison. I\u2019ll come back to multiple specific examples in future articles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for now, go read for yourself how the banal stupidity of pretending to fake believe Leo is a murderer comes through in the words and behavior of current State Attorney Brian Haas and long-time former State Attorney Jerry Hill. Every Polk prosecutor and judge who ever touched the case personally owes their professional career and personal status to Hill, including Haas. I assure you that is the only reason Leo continues to suffer in this Sartre-level absurdity trap.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do have two important, specific elements of Bockman\u2019s story to highlight today. Both, I think, subtly break important news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is Grady Judd giving public political permission to exonerate Leo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My working political<\/em><\/strong> theory on the Schofield case \u2014 and this entirely a political matter now <\/em><\/strong>because the Jerry Hill-compromised judicial branch has proven itself incapable of exonerating an innocent man \u2014 is that Polk Sheriff Grady Judd, not Haas or Hill, is the key player in determining Schofield\u2019s fate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t think DeSantis \u2014 or whoever is detailed to review this case with GOP State Sen. Jonathan Martin \u2014 will pull the trigger if they expect the flamboyant sheriff to attack the decision. Well, here is Grady from Bockman\u2019s story:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when it comes to Schofield, the sheriff has been restrained. He declined to be interviewed for this story. \u201cHe\u2019s not interested in discussing the Leo Schofield case,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You know what that says? When DeSantis or Uthmeier or whomever finally orders exoneration or a truly independent conviction integrity review, they will get all<\/em><\/strong> the political benefit and good press of doing the right thing (might even be good for Casey\u2019s campaign against Byron Donalds and Larry Wilcoxson<\/a>). Grady\u2019s spokesman will just say: \u201cHe\u2019s not interested in discussing the Schofield case. The majestic legal system has worked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And unlike Jerry Hill and Brian Haas, Grady Judd truly is not<\/em><\/strong> on the hook for what happened to Schofield. John Aguero bullied the very young Grady\u2019s investigators with addled testimony he arranged with \u201cwitnesses\u201d in his office. Honestly, Grady owes Aguero\u2019s ghost some payback<\/em><\/strong>. And all the worst parts of the case are on prosecutors and judges, not cops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And keep in mind: the state of Florida\u2019s official position<\/em><\/strong> is that Leo Schofield (not serial killer Jeremy Scott, who has confessed to killing Michelle Schofield multiple times and left evidence on her car) slaughtered his wife in an unimaginable rage. The state of Florida officially insists Leo slashed Michelle more than 20 times with a knife. Meanwhile. Leo Schofield has never wavered <\/em><\/strong>in asserting his innocence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So Leo is officially, supposedly<\/em><\/strong> a savage woman-killer who won\u2019t take any responsibility for his actions. And Grady Judd doesn\u2019t want to discuss his release back into a society?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come on; it\u2019s absurd, and Grady knows it as well as anyone else. That\u2019s why he\u2019s giving DeSantis low-key permission to act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About this internal case review, State Attorney Haas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other really important piece of news \u2014 at least for me \u2014 in Bockman\u2019s story is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was elected many years ago, I had a fresh, in-depth review of the Schofield case conducted by prosecutors and investigators in my office, independent of John Aguero (who prosecuted Schofield) or the previous administration. Their conclusions were consistent with the multiple appellate judges and trial court judges who have upheld the Schofield conviction many times over the years, based upon a complete and accurate examination of the facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh; you don\u2019t say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the public records request I sent to the 10th Circuit State Attorney\u2019s Office this morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good morning. Pursuant to Florida statutes, I am requesting all written records related to the “fresh, in-depth review of the Schofield case conducted by prosecutors and investigators in my office, independent of John Aguero (who prosecuted Schofield) or the previous administration”<\/em><\/strong> that State Attorney Brian Haas referred to in the Tampa Bay Times <\/em>in this article.<\/a> State Attorney Haas claims he ordered this review “when I was elected many years ago.” Haas was first elected in late 2016. So this review likely occurred in 2017, but he should be able to specify the timing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Records in this request include, but are not limited to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n