Leo Schofield has spent 34 years in prison for the murder of his wife, Michelle – a crime for which he has always maintained his innocence. Fifteen years after Leo’s conviction, another man, Jeremy Scott, was forensically linked to the crime. Since then, Scott has given multiple detailed confessions to the murder of Michelle Schofield. 

Jeremy Scott is currently serving a life sentence for another murder. Fingerprint evidence at the scene, and Scott’s detailed confessions, make it clear that he alone is responsible for the murder of Michelle Schofield. The State of Florida has refused to acknowledge blatant mistakes in the conviction of Leo Schofield—a conviction based solely on circumstantial evidence, including unreliable eyewitness testimony, an impossible timeline, and an onslaught of improper prejudicial evidence. The State of Florida has also failed to fully investigate Jeremy Scott and his links to the crime. 

For over three decades, Leo Schofield has been denied justice, again and again, and his deceased wife’s family has had no real closure. It is clear that in this case the criminal justice system does not serve the truly innocent, the victim, the victim’s family, or the public interest.

But there is something we can do. Please join us in urging Brian Haas, State Attorney for the Tenth Judicial Circuit of Florida, to transfer Leo Schofield’s case to another circuit with a conviction integrity review unit (CRU). CRUs work to review possible wrongful convictions and have become a crucial stopgap in many states for ensuring the integrity of our justice system. CRUs are not bound by the narrow scope of appellate and postconviction courts, and instead are able to review the case in its entirety. 

The Innocence Project of Florida, along with lead counsel J. Andrew Crawford, Esquire, continue to represent Leo Schofield in his effort to overturn his wrongful conviction. At this time, Leo’s counsel is reviewing the revelations in already-released and upcoming episodes of the new 9-chapter podcast series, Bone Valley, which lays out the case that Leo was never able to mount in his own defense.

To learn more about this miscarriage of justice, listen to Bone Valley wherever you get your podcasts, and get involved. You can start by signing your name to this petition. We also urge you to financially support the effort to free Leo Schofield and other wrongfully convicted men and women like him by supporting the Innocence Project of Florida by visiting its website www.FloridaInnocence.org.