Help the Schofield family overcome fate's newest boulder
Leo Schofield and his daughter Ashley barely survived a terrible motorcycle accident. A long recovery looms. You can help support them both by direct contribution and exoneration.
I received word of this a few days ago, while on a trip. It was a bit of a gut punch, of course. I don’t have much to add to the “Go Fund Me” page, which describes the accident and situation. This is the bottom line moving ahead.
“Ashley is a devoted mother to three young boys, and Crissie, their rock, will now take on the role of caretaker for Leo, Ashley, and the children,” the GoFundMe campaign said. “With both Leo and Crissie unable to work at this time, the family faces significant financial challenges, including child care, home modifications to accommodate wheelchair access, medical and rehabilitation costs.”
Here’s a more upbeat note from Gilbert King, co-creator of the Bone Valley podcast, describing the ever-resilient Leo’s frame of mind, as quoted in The Ledger.
“I can tell you that he’s in good spirits, and fully aware that his recovery is going to be a long one,” King said Monday by email. “I don’t think he will be able to bear any weight for a few months. And of course, as a guitarist, he’s worried about playing, given the plates and screws in his hands. At some point, he’s going to be transferred to an inpatient rehab facility.”
Of course, in this case, it’s not just Leo who needs help and prayers. The whole family will struggle together.
The crash happened just days after Leo’s triumphant and beautiful return to the Polk Theater. See article below.
When I shared the crash news with someone last week, I received a one-phrase reply: “the Sisyphus of Lakeland.”
Exonerate and compensate “the Sisyphus of Lakeland” so the rock is smaller
Bone Valley details Leo Schofield’s ongoing wrongful conviction for the murder of his wife Michelle in 1987.
Jeremy Scott, a likely Central Florida serial killer, convicted of one murder and implicated in at least two more, has confessed repeatedly, in escalating detail, to killing Michelle Schofield. He also left fingerprint evidence on Michelle Schofield’s car on the night she was killed. No jury has ever heard those facts because morally and professionally corrupt Polk County judges refuse to allow it. The 10th Circuit State Attorney’s Office refuses to own up its mistakes and extensive prosecutorial wrongdoing by the deceased John Aguero.
(BTW: Jeremy Scott did not recant — or appear to recant — in a 2018 evidentiary hearing, despite erroneous repetition of that non-fact by reporters trying too hard to be fair. I will address this in a future article.)
Indeed, the powers-that-be in Polk County, including law enforcement power, clearly believe Leo is innocent because they so meekly submitted to his parole last year. If Polk’s sheriff or state attorney truly thought Leo savagely stabbed his wife to death, do you think they would not be screaming to keep him in prison? Come on. Polk readers know these people.
Ending the self-protective charade is even more urgent now. Leo needs to be pardoned, exonerated, and compensated so that he can adequately provide for his own rehabilitation and that of his family. At the time of the crash, Leo was working his ass off to provide for his family — if you have any doubt about his work ethic. See article here:
Leo and his family have no choice but to keep pushing their rock. At the very least, we can all put a hand on it, too.