Scenes from a good night for Leo Schofield, Voctave, and Lakeland, Florida
Leo Schofield makes a surprise return to the Polk Theatre, awash in the community's warm assumption of innocence. Voctave and fans also find a warm welcoming community. Seasons greetings, everyone.
For full background, read this article I wrote last week.
It’s been almost 40 years since young, free Leo Schofield set foot in the deteriorating, late 80s Polk Theatre in Lakeland. Saturday night, Dec. 21, 2024, he made a dramatic, unexpected return to the beautifully-renovated venue bearing the name of the county that wrongly sent him to prison for murder. Much has changed since Leo watched the Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Polk as a head-banging, aspiring rock star.
I believe Saturday marked the first time Leo Schofield has taken part in a Lakeland community event since his parole for a terrible crime no one here (or anywhere else) believes he committed anymore — especially the cowardly people keeping him a convicted murderer under state control.
Remember the date.
I believe Leo’s (triumphant isn’t really the right word; but what is?) return to Lakeland marks a decisive turning point in his story — the moment it ceased to be defined by the question of his guilt or innocence.
Leo has won that public competition in a rout.
The people of Polk County vs. Jerry Hill, et. al.
The public is a far ahead of the tiny layer of self-protective moral weaklings, hiding behind bureaucracy and cheap legalism, who are loosely conspiring through inaction to vaguely save face by keeping Leo an administratively official murderer.
Indeed, put Jerry Hill and that “convicted murderer” on the same Polk Theatre stage Saturday night — and guess who gets righteously cheered and guess who gets righteously booed. Jerry and Brian Haas know it; that’s why they lacked the guts to show up to answer to their former and current constituents.
From now on, the Schofield story isn’t the Schofield story: it’s the moral gulf between the people of Polk County eager to correct our mistake and the tiny weak layer of official institutional power denying us that right — hiding from us in in plain sight within judicial robes, lawyer suits, and 6-figure government paychecks
Why — and for how long — will these small, weak people afraid to exonerate Leo of the crime he did not commit continue to sacrifice him on the cross of their personal vanity and weakness?
That is the entirety of the story moving forward.
Sadly, I could not attend Saturday’s event because of an out-of-town family event. I’ve still never met Leo in the flesh. But some hundreds of curious and sympathetic Lakelanders now have. And they are waaaayyyyy ahead of the small weak people protecting themselves from his exoneration.
That is a helluva development for the moral and civic good in this community.
“We welcome you with open arms”
Meanwhile, this was happening across Lake Morton, about three minutes away as the swan flies.
And this note …
… is a very far cry from this note:
Again, back story here. But it hardly seems worth revisiting. This seems a much better note in which to head into celebration of Christmas.
See you all after.
A very interesting event. It brought the question why does Florida have such a bent judicial system? Not all judges are lax just some.
I am proud my church stepped up!