Jerry Hill falsely told parole commissioners that Leo Schofield confessed; at least one commissioner believed him
Last year, 10th Circuit State Attorney Brian Haas' Office publicly declared Hill's uncorrected Schofield lies don't matter because no one believed them. Will they apologize to the public now?
Current/former Alabama state and federal prosecutors Alice Lacour and Brett Talley, both of whom have clear right wing political and legal credentials, co-host a podcast aptly named “The Prosecutors.” They’ve already done a multi-part deep dive on the Leo Schofield case, which declared Leo innocent and blasted the behavior of the 10th Circuit’s lead prosecutors in the case.
Now Lacour and Talley are back on the Schofield case. Their new episode is a riveting interview with Bone Valley producer Gilbert King and retired prosecutor and Judge Scott Cupp, who represents Leo.
Cupp and King seem willing to speak much more freely now that Leo has finally been paroled. Access the episode here. (Your humble substacker may or may not get a cameo name-drop about halfway through.)
In the episode, King and Cupp break a bombshell piece of news that completely vindicates my Florida Bar complaint against former 10th Circuit State Attorney Jerry Hill — and further shames the Florida Bar. More on in just a moment. In fact, I’ll be coming back to multiple aspects of this discussion in future articles.
“When your ego is more important than justice”
But this entire episode is particularly important for the Polk and 10th Circuit readers with whom I share a community. All of this is done in our name. The people who run the 10th Circuit SAO (and its pathetic, former Jerry Hill-employee, suck-up house judges like Keith Spoto) have falsely kept Leo Schofield a convicted murderer because … reasons.
They remain in charge of your justice today — and mine. They are morally, ethically, and emotionally unworthy of the solemn power and trust given to them. They are walking bombs of unchecked ego and cowardice and self-protection ready to explode into our lives at any time.
It’s not just me who says that. Listen to the very conservative Brett Talley describe the obvious:
It’s just unfortunate that it appears that the people who were representing the state of Florida and the district were more concerned about the reputation of this prosecutor than they were about the truth in this case; and frankly it doesn’t feel like this is the first time that that’s has happened in this case. It feels like from the moment Leo was convicted, protecting the people who were involved in his conviction, including John Aguero, was paramount and that’s what they’ve been doing for the past 30-something years… Like I said, I don’t mind defending a conviction; but I have a problem when your ego is more important than justice.
And here is Cupp, also a very politically conservative former judge and prosecutor:
I’m not as forgiving as Gilbert is. This is how these folks operate. And I’ll tell you, I’ve prosecuted in four different circuits … all over the state of Florida. I’ve never seen an office operate the way that this office has operated. In the words of Sen. Jonathan Martin, everything he saw in this case makes him sick to his stomach.
Incarceration is over; exoneration is coming. Its arrival gets more painful for the 10th SAO and its house judges with every passing moment. 20/20 is running Schofield report promos during the NBA Finals. A dramatized miniseries is in works.
And nobody gives a shit about Jerry Hill outside of a tiny club in Polk County.
DeSantis has already removed two sitting state attorneys for trifling political reasons. The precedent is set. When this eventually comes down — and it will — who in the 10th will be left holding this putrid bag?
The past is never dead
Right, center, and left alike revile this abomination of a case. Libs hate it; MAGAs hate it; and any honest lawyer hates it. It has no popular constituency — except for the tiny, ridiculous, and impotent Polk County ruling class passively protecting its longtime member Jerry Hill.
But they can’t even protect Jerry from me.
That’s because the Schofield case is now firmly in the political and popular narrative realm. In that space, I’ve shut up Jerry Hill permanently. Come prove me wrong, Jerry. Let’s do an interview.
Or let’s consider Chad Davis, son of the failed trial judge in the Schofield case, GOP candidate for state representative office, who just got a political contribution from Jerry Hill.
Hey Chad, you’re a lawyer.
Why don’t you come on my podcast and let’s talk about this vital question of public integrity and justice — to which you have a personal tie? I’d like to know your position. I know your GOP opponent Randy Wilkinson’s position. He’s the number 1 public advocate for Leo in Polk County — other than me.
As Faulkner famously wrote: “The past is never dead; it’s not even past.”
Parole commissioner makes dishonest fools of Jake Orr and the Florida Bar
I sent this email to the leadership of the 10th SAO on Thursday morning. It briefly explains the news that Cupp and King broke on the new “Prosecutors” episode:
Scott Cupp and Gilbert King have appeared on another episode of "The Prosecutors." In addressing Jake Orr's comments at the most recent parole hearing, they revealed that one of the parole commissioners told them in a meeting prior to the 2023 hearing that he was reluctant to parole Leo because he understood Leo had confessed.
This, of course, was a result of Jerry's lie about confession in the 2020 hearing.
Moreover, Jake previously assured the public that no one was confused by Jerry's uncorrected lies in 2020. Now we're told a parole commissioner was convinced Leo Schofield confessed.
My questions for the article I'm writing are:
1) Does the SAO think Judge Scott Cupp and Gilbert King are lying about what the commissioner told them?
2) If not, do Jake Orr and the SAO owe the public an apology for materially misleading the public -- yet again -- in the Schofield case?
If you followed my Florida Bar complaint against Jerry Hill based on that 2020 performance, you know that it focused on Hill’s declaration that “the defendant,” who is Leo Schofield, confessed to killing his wife. Exact wording: “In September, the defendant sends a letter to counsel admitting to the murder of Mrs. Schofield.”
This, of course, is blatantly false. Leo Schofield has never wavered in asserting his innocence. But SAO spokesman Jake Orr told me in June of 2023 this obvious lie didn’t matter and did not need to be publicly corrected because:
“It is obvious that he was referring to “defendant” Jeremy Scott that wrote a letter admitting to a murder and was later found to be not credible.”
No one from the 10th SAO has acknowledged, much less answered, my new email about what’s “obvious.”
“It is their duty to the public, not necessarily even just to Leo”
In the absence of an SAO answer, let’s address Jake Orr’s “obvious” misstatement ourselves. Follow me through this exchange, which I have edited slightly for length and clarity. It starts about 37 minutes in. Go listen to yourself for the raw version.
Gilbert King: On the afternoon of May 2, 2023, we met with one commissioner in a conference room at the Florida Commission on Offender Review. And right off the bat, this commissioner told us that they were still struggling with Leo’s parole because Leo confessed. You know, I remember, Judge, you were there, you and I kind of looked at each other, like “what is he talking about.”
Retired Judge Scott Cupp: I almost fell out of my chair.
After some discussion, Alice Lacour picks up:
Alice Lacour: It is their duty to the public, not necessarily even just to Leo. It’s much broader than that. The DA is there for justice for the entire public. They had a duty to correct any sort of potential confusion. And I would say probably a letter to the parole board.
Gilbert King: You know, it basically allowed Jerry Hill to declare Leo Schofield a confessed murderer by accident and he refused to make a correction on that. The reporter actually confronted him about it and said, “Are you going to correct that?” And his response was “—— you” … I think Jacob Orr’s point that nobody was confused by what Jerry Hill said in there, well, one person was confused, a parole commissioner. And you know, you have to wonder if Jerry Hill’s mispoken words that day added three more years to Leo’s incarceration.
Brett Talley: It’s just unfortunate that it appears that the people who were representing the state of Florida and the district were more concerned about the reputation of this prosecutor than they were about the truth in this case; and frankly it doesn’t feel like this is the first time that that’s has happened in this case. It feels like from the moment Leo was convicted, protecting the people who were involved in his conviction, including John Aguero, was paramount and that’s what they’ve been doing for the past 30-something years… Like I said, I don’t mind defending a conviction; but I have a problem when your ego is more important than justice.
I think I’ll leave Brett Talley with the last word, other than this reminder:
Exoneration is coming.
So why do I ardently support a fellow with whom I disagree on a number of topics and who criticizes Republican Officials at the state level, but seldom Democrats. Because as we approach 1 party rule in this state, voices of dissent are more critical than ever. One party rule is NOTORIOUS for rampant corruption and malfeasance. Those outside voices become more precious as power is consolidated. As I've said before, especially with this Jerry Hill/Schofield case, this is the Lord's work.