Muse

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This is Simone Boyce from The Bright Side, a Hello Sunshine podcast. Being a mom today isn't just about bike helmets and broccoli anymore. The digital stuff is what really worries me. Like, could my kid's info be stolen before he even gets his first report card? Or what if a game download hides a virus? That's scary. That's why I use Microsoft Defender. One app across my devices. It scans for viruses, flags phishing scams, and even watches for threats to our personal info. It feels like having a bodyguard for my family online, so I can actually sleep at night. To learn more, visit Microsoft365.com slash Defender.

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Yesterday, I went out in the afternoon, going out for my last time on the rec field. It's so contained, and it's so secure. It has to be, right? I mean, it's a high-level security institution. You can't look far without having to look through a fence, a steel bar, a reinforced glass door, tall 12-foot fences covered in razor wire. There's something there that's going to remind you that you're not free. You know, you are confined. My mind was whirling, you know, thinking about all the what-ifs, the possibilities, what am I going to do, what's this going to be like? is it really going to happen? Because I'm going to tell you something right up to the last minute. I was holding my breath, waiting for a hammer to drop.

Do you hear my madness? Laughter hides my fears Sorrow's depths are endless In this valley of tears I wanna see your revelation I wanna know who you are I'm reaching out in desperation To the one who's holding the star To the one who's holding the star

I know it just upsets everybody, but I saw this coming. To be honest with you, I saw this coming.

Kelsey and I are sitting in a hotel room in Miami, along with Scott Cupp. Just two weeks earlier, Leo had been officially granted parole. Since then, I'd been in near constant contact with Chrissy and Scott as they coordinated plans for Leo's first day out of prison. Here's what we were expecting. Leo was scheduled to walk out of the gates at Everglades Correctional Institution at 9 a.m., where a crowd of family, friends, and supporters would be gathered to cheer him on and witness his first steps of freedom after spending 36 years behind bars. Leo's lawyers from years past were also planning to attend, and so was Jonathan Martin. He's the

who spoke at Leo's parole hearing last year, and who has been in discussions with Scott Kupp about Leo's prospects for exoneration. Chrissy had planned a whole day for him. First, there would be a luncheon at the hotel, where Leo would say some words and play some music. Then, he'd get into a car and drive with Chrissy to see his daughter Ashley, who had just given birth to his third grandson. Then, he'd head to the halfway house in Tampa, where he'd unpack and settle in and begin the adjustment to life outside of prison. Kelsey and I flew into Miami and headed over to the Miccosukee Hotel the night before the release. This hotel is right on the outskirts of Miami and less than a mile from where Leo would spend his final night in prison. We were feeling pretty excited as we headed to the Miccosukee Hotel, but just as we were walking up to the front desk to check in, I got a call from Chrissy.

I feel like I didn't really get the full story of what she told you on that call, actually.

She basically said, this is what I've heard. I don't know anything else. I'm on my way over. But they have moved the walkout time to 6 a.m., number one. Number two, only three people are going. Chrissy, Dave, and Pam picking up Leo. No media. The other thing they said is, as far as we know, no Miccosukee. Can't stop there. Got to go straight to Noah's house. So, yeah. We don't know who issued the orders. Was it the prison, overwhelmed with the logistics of a high-profile release? Or did this come from higher up in the Florida Department of Corrections? There was no way to know. But after that phone call from the prison, we did know that all of Chrissy's plans for Leo's release were done for.

If they say, get in the car and go straight to Noah's, he better get in the car and go straight to Noah's. Because at this point, as upset as everybody is, if that's what they're telling him to do, he better do it.

Sitting in the hotel room with Scott Kopp, we tried to figure out what to do next. We exchanged a few texts with Seth Miller, Leo's lawyer from the Innocence Project of Florida, since he's been through this process many times.

I'm curious, has he ever experienced this before? He just told me he's done like 30 walkouts. It's like, what the fuck is going on?

This one's different. You know, Jonathan Martin was supposed to be here when Leo got out. And now at 6 a.m., it's kind of hard for him to leave at 3.30 to get from Fort Myers or where the hell he's coming from. So there's a lot of stuff that's happening. The prison has set these last-minute conditions for Leo's release, and it's final. It seems like just one more reminder that walking through that gate might look like freedom, but parole is still basically prison without bars. We have records. Let's see who this is.

Dave and Pam, Leo's family from Massachusetts, find their way to Gilbert's hotel room, where everyone seems to be congregating. It's nice to see them, at least. This is a long and complicated story, but since you haven't really heard their voices before, here's some quick backstory to get you caught up. The woman Leo called mom growing up is really his stepmother. Cheryl married Leo's dad when Leo was a toddler, and she raised him. It was never hidden from Leo that his biological mother was out there, but he had never met her until 2018. That's when Leo, with Chrissy's help, finally reconnected with his birth mother, Sandy. I can imagine that it's already nerve-wracking to reach out to a biological parent who you've been separated from since you were three, but reaching out to a biological parent and saying you're convicted of killing your wife and you're innocent, I could see how that might not go over well. But actually, she quickly embraced Leo. And along with Sandy came Dave and Pam. Sandy referred to her husband Dave as the love of her life. And Pam is the half-sister Leo never knew existed. Sandy, Dave, and Pam traveled down from Massachusetts to visit Leo frequently. They had a couple years of family reunions in the Hardy Correctional Visitation Park. And then Sandy passed away in April of 2020. Since then, Dave and Pam have truly become Leo's family. So much so that Dave has legally adopted Leo, his deceased wife's adult son. And Pam and Leo are lovingly referred to as the twins. Because although they've spent a lifetime apart, they have so much in common. And their shared sense of humor means they are almost always laughing in each other's presence. So that's Dave and Pam.

and Chrissy was saying that only the three of us can pick him up at the clock tomorrow morning and take him away. Take him away where? What the hell?

Right. We don't even know.

The object was to have something here and then take him to Fort Myers so he can see Ashley, his grandchildren. Right.

I said to him, you can have a target on your back. Because of the notoriety and everything out there, they're going to be watching you. Be careful. Absolutely everything by the book, steady on. Whatever you need us to do, we'll do. So stay focused. All the rules they give you, that's our focus.

I'm glad you two were at least included with the gate walkout.

But how sad is it that I'm the one that can go? It makes me feel bad just because that's me. And I really want to see him walk out that door. Like, that's totally what I want to do.

We wanted to see him walk out, too. It's a moment we've been imagining for five years. But there's no time to think about that now. Plans are still shifting, and it's getting late. There is one thing that hasn't changed. The vehicle that Leo will ride in to leave prison property. Dave's black Tesla.

I wanted him to ride in my car. I didn't want him to ride in some rental car from whomever. I wanted him to ride in my car. My daughter's ridden in my car, my grandkids are ridden in my car, my son-in-law's ridden in my car, and I want him in my car. That's why.

We don't even know what Leo knows at this point about the change in plans. The prison had already taken away his tablet, so we can't get in touch with him. All we could do was hope that he'd be able to make a phone call. We meet up with Chrissy in her hotel room and watch the sunset from her balcony. Leo would take his first steps outside the barbed wire gate before the sun would rise again. We set our alarms for 4 a.m. and try to get some sleep.

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spendquest.com for more details this is simone voice from the bright side a hello sunshine podcast when my son started playing games online i thought the biggest worry would be screen time But then I realized, it's not just fun and games out there. There are scams, viruses, even people trying to steal his info before he's old enough for social media. I'll be honest, I felt overwhelmed. I didn't know where to start, and the last thing I wanted was to download five different apps I'd forget to use. Then a friend told me about Microsoft Defender. Now I've got one app that covers my devices. It scans for viruses, blocks phishing scams, and even watches for threats to our personal info. And the best part, it doesn't make me feel like I have to be a tech expert. With Defender, I finally feel like I've got backup online, so I can stop worrying about hackers and go back to worrying about the everyday stuff, like whether he ate enough veggies today. To learn more, visit Microsoft365.com slash Defender.

We went from normal life, healthy child to acute lymphoblastic leukemia or B-cell, ALL. The St. Jude team came up to get CJ via ambulance. It was a little bit of a scary drive. There was a time where the storms were really heavy. Shortly after that, I noticed a rainbow. It meant that there was hope. We were driving into hope. St. Jude gave us a hope that we didn't know was possible. I truly can't even imagine not having St. Jude in our lives. I knew that it was really bad and I had a lot of questions, but I knew that everything was going to be okay. St. Jude saved everything that matters to us. I don't know that we'd have CJ without them. I am beyond grateful. My hopes are I can work with St. Jude. To have hope is to have St. Jude. To have hope is to have your child healthy, and we have that because of

St. Jude. You can help kids fight childhood cancer. Please become a St. Jude Partner in Hope today by visiting musicgives.org.

quarter to three quarter to three I was away

I didn't sleep two hours. It doesn't make sense to get up now, you know what I mean, because I'm locked in this 8x10 cell. My roommate's sleeping. And I said, now I'm going to just lay here for a minute. And I lay there and let my mind just burn out, thinking about everything I was going to do. And then, like, quarter after three, I said, man, get out of bed, man. Just get out of bed. And I slowly, you know, got ready. And I was already dressed. My blues brushed my teeth. Four o'clock, my door rolled open. I knew why it was open. And the Sarge came, and I came out carrying my little blue bag. And all that had in it was my Bible and the Koran and some journals. And they brought me to the front, and they put me in a holding cell by myself at four o'clock in the morning. And I knew I was going to be sitting there a while because I'm not leaving until six. my wife was given permission to bring my clothes no earlier than 5 45 so now i'm going to be sitting there and just sitting there from 4 to 5 45. i had my bible with me so that was good i sat in this little cell locked in a cage and just prayed and waited

all right um i'm about to head downstairs it's 5 15 in the morning and today is the day um leo's gonna walk out of prison we're not gonna be able to see it but it's still gonna happen and that's the good thing

We head outside. It's been raining since we got up.

We're Leo. It's going to be released in the dark and in the rain.

We see Chrissy with Dave and Pam packing up the car with all the food that was supposed to be spread out in a buffet for guests. She's also packed a bag with clothes for Leo to change into, since he'll have to leave his prison blues behind.

So, um, we're on our way. We're going to go get him. Yeah. Yeah. I know. It's going to be amazing. I can't wait. Yay. All right. See you.

Once Chrissy, Dave, and Pam load up and take off, we jump in the car and are right behind them.

That's them over there. Right there? Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Don't get like pulled over. Oh, I'm not going to.

The drive lasts all of two minutes. We watch Dave, Pam, and Chrissy drive onto prison grounds in the Tesla, and I pull over and flip the hazards on.

So we turn into the prison property and get around a curve, and there's like three or four cars with their lights on and a barricade. So they all come running to these officers, and they're on walkie-talkies, and they come to the door, and they say, We roll down the window, and they take our driver's license and check our names. And then they ask for his clothes, and I had him in a bag next to me, so we open the window and give him the clothes. And I hear on the walkie-talkie, Major's taking the clothes, taking the clothes. And then comes back to us and says, follow the major.

We're parked on the side of the road, across from the prison entrance. The shoulder isn't wide enough to keep us out of the lane while cars fly past us. I don't know if this is a fucking spot

You still have like three feet over here God, it's really just fully dark out right now I mean like how much are we into the lane?

A little bit

It's so fucking depressing like this I can't believe they're making this Let's do it this way. What do the headlights of a Tesla look like?

Uh, I don't know. The night before, we'd all decided that even if we couldn't witness those first steps of freedom, we still wanted to be as close as we could to the moment. More cars filled with friends and family members line up behind us. We're all peering through the dark, waiting for the outline of the black Tesla to appear.

And time went by like that, and before I knew it, and they brought the clothes to me, I changed out of everything.

And then we go to another checkpoint, and there's another guard gate.

and officers come and they check our driver's license, they check the trunk, and then they say, go to the front pavilion where we normally go for a visit.

And I was able to go out the gate. No inmates for any reason walked to that gate because that's the front gate. And so I went through there, and then they took me directly out.

so the car stops and i jump out and i run up to this pavilion area it's like a covered area and there's two wardens in suits and they're standing there and i'm i'm just kind of we're just kind of chit-chatting casual conversation you know like just trying to be polite and and it's still raining and the intensity is just building for me, building, building, building.

I'm like, okay, because they're going to let me go. Opened the front gate, and I went through it. It was incredible.

And next thing I know, in the rain and the dark, the warden's turned around, and there he was. And I saw him in his clothes and his little blue bag. And he just walked really fast to me. And we just, like, the intensity of that hug was magical. Like, we did it, we did it, we did it.

So Chrissy was, like, hugging and crying. And one of them was a great hug. And I'm like, OK, let's go. Can we hug somewhere else, please? You know what I mean? These people got guns, and I want to go. and I don't want them to say, you know what, Scofield, I changed my mind. I'm in jeans now, we're not going back to those. As tighter as these are than those I was wearing, I'm not putting those back on, never again. And then the door closes and it was just quiet. Just quiet. Prisons are utterly noisy places. They echo, people yelling, screaming, laughing, whatever. And it's constant noise, you know, and it's all day, every day. And I got in that car, and, you know, it's very, very quiet. And then it started moving, and it was still quiet. I'm like, the car don't make any noise. I mean, it doesn't sound like anything. I mean, it needs to have, like, some kind of something I was waiting for, and we just started moving. I'm like, what the hell? Yeah.

It's a van with blinkers on.

That does look like a Tesla though.

Oh, I think that's them.

A car comes out and takes a left. We're not sure it's them. It's so dark out. I try to follow them. Get going. No, no, no, stop. I gotta do traffic first.

Decline. What? What are you doing? Go.

Okay.

I, I mean, I hope that was him. It looked like a test.

I can't imagine what Leo's thinking, if that is him up ahead. My heart is pounding, trying to catch up. Something about this moment feels more like an escape than a walkout. I just want to get as far away from this prison as fast as possible.

I don't know if she's going to reply.

And so I'm driving down the road a little bit, and I said, I think there's some people following us.

That looks like a Massachusetts plate, doesn't it? Let's see. Get closer.

Because I'm paranoid. Are they going to follow us all the way to Tampa?

Oh, wait. OK, Chrissy said yes. Oh, my God, we're in a car behind Leo. And the rain's letting up a little.

And when she told me it was you guys, I was like, oh, okay, okay, that made me feel a lot better.

Leo must be freaked out in that car. It's like, all it is is a big computer screen. There's no, you know, like, knobs or anything.

I mean, I'm freaked out by it, so it's been 36 years in prison.

I can't believe he's up there. We head west as the sun rises behind us. We drive out of the rain as our little caravan cuts across the Tamiami Trail, led by the Black Tesla with Leo.

inside. The rain stopped and the day brightened as we were driving and the sun came out and the rain just stopped and we started to breathe. So it was the most magical moment of my life.

About 20 miles down the road, the Tesla's left turn signal starts blinking in front of us. Chrissy says she needs to pull over for a bathroom stop. And we all stop too, and everyone gets out. The back door of the Tesla swings open, and suddenly, there's Leo. Where is he? Standing in street clothes in a parking lot, miles from prison. No handcuffs, no barbed wire, no guards in sight. It may not be the walkout from the main gate that everyone was imagining, but he's here. He's out.

Good to see you, oh my gosh, hi.

Hey bud. Hi. Here come the boys.

Hey, hey. Hi. Leo's family and friends gather around him,

hugging and taking photos. But it's a quick stop. Leo is anxious to get back on the road and get to Tampa.

How are you doing, buddy? Okay. You all right? You're okay? Yeah. I don't know. I'm still feeling this as hell. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not sure what I feel, to be honest. I'm just, you know. I think once I get there and get settled, things will be better. Yeah.

Back on the road, we continue to follow Leo to Noah's house, where he's required to check in by the end of the day.

I'm still kind of in shock that I'm in this car. Just hit me. Yeah. I mean, I'm thinking it's count time right now.

That's pretty, though, isn't it?

You have no idea. You know, it's crazy, and I imagined this for a long time. Many years I thought about this, is being able to look out at the horizon and be able to see far without having to look through fence or razor wire or, you know, anything like that. It's just amazing. There was a time when we were driving across a bridge. The water, there's something on the boat Wow, that is crazy How far you can see Just to be able to see that far, that far And not have to look through anything Was absolutely extraordinary That was amazing And it made my heart race keep waiting to wake up from a dream and have it not be real that would really suck

the drive from the prison to the halfway house is a little over four hours Inside our car, we spend time listening to podcasts, of course. But within the Tesla, Leo is learning how to work his first smartphone.

There should be a gallery for your pictures. So we bought him a phone. And before he got the phone, before he got out of prison, he's like, I don't know why you people are on the phone all the time. And I'm just going to have a phone attached to the wall like I always did. I'm like, no, no, no, you're going to have a phone. and it has everything in it. We had pre-programmed his phone numbers and some apps. There's your camera. Okay. So when I gave it to him, it was definitely foreign to him. And so it was super fun just to show him what to do.

What is Snapchat?

It's a dumbass social... You can send little snaps, a picture, or a little text, and then it goes to the other person, and then it's erased after 30 seconds or something.

I told him, I said, you use that phone for everything. I said, when you want to go to the gym, you got to beep. When you go to buy stuff, you beep.

Do I have that on here? Can you put Google Earth on it?

Yeah, it's on there.

Is it? I love that.

It probably goes without saying, but a lot has changed in those 36 years Leo spent locked up.

I was looking at the pictures we took, and I'm like, we're old compared to, well, compared to...

I can't see what I look. I look old. I look old. And then the other thing, this is crazy. We don't have mirrors in the prison. We don't have mirrors. we have um these little pieces of shiny plastic that you can buy out of the canteen if you want and they got a they got a stainless steel thing that's bolted to the to the concrete but i mean it's as reflective as a hubcap you know i mean literally you might see a shadow of yourself in it you're not going to shave in it and so they sell these little shiny plastic things that have you know some type of adhesive silver thing that and it's better than the hubcap but it still doesn't show a true reflection and so when you see yourself in the mirror after 36 years it's shocking it's literally shocking because the little plastic thing is softens you know lines and you know blemishes and all that you don't really see it in that because it's not true reflection and so you see i look and i said damn i got old remember what i told you when we first met it was a long hard road well i didn't even know it'd be this long you don't expect justice to be this slow but we didn't even know half of what that was actually going on

Yeah, we had to do the time to find the truth, I guess.

You know, one thing we can definitely say is it has been meaningful. You know, I'm kind of absorbing the fact that it's over for me. You know, at least that part of it. And then the experience we stopped at a Burger King, I need to use the bathroom. Good. Are we going in? Yeah. Okay. This is very, very weird. Do I look like a prisoner?

No. I don't?

You sure? Should we get one of those hats? No, thank you. God, there's nobody in here.

So this is the menu, and you choose what you'd like, and then you go up there.

Why don't we just get a waffle with cheese?

You can.

Thank you.

Do I look obvious? No. You sure? Yeah. Absolutely fine. I'm fucking scared to death in here. he had a chicken sandwich and she had some other little thing of wrap and the girl said 30 something dollars and it's strange I'm like holy mother of God is it to come with a back massage or something that's crazy

30 something dollars 30 something dollars I said a whopper whopper one whopper with cheese. That's it. Just cheese. What else is on there? Gold? 30 something dollars. That's

crazy. Unbelievable. This is Simone Boyce from The Bright Side, a Hello Sunshine podcast. When my son started playing games online, I thought the biggest worry would be screen time. But then I realized it's not just fun.

and games out there. There are scams, viruses, even people trying to steal his info before he's old enough for social media. I'll be honest, I felt overwhelmed. I didn't know where to start, and the last thing I wanted was to download five different apps I'd forget to use. Then a friend told me about Microsoft Defender. Now I've got one app that covers my devices. It scans for viruses, blocks phishing scams, and even watches for threats to our personal info. And the best part? It doesn't make me feel like I have to be a tech expert. With Defender, I finally feel like I've got backup online, so I can stop worrying about hackers and go back to worrying about the everyday stuff, like whether he ate enough veggies today. To learn more, visit Microsoft365.com slash Defender.

We went from normal life, healthy child to acute lymphoblastic leukemia or B-cell, ALL. The St. Jude team came up to get CJ via ambulance. Shortly after that, I noticed a rainbow. It meant that there was hope. We were driving into hope. To have hope is to have your child healthy, and we have that because of St. Jude.

You can help kids fight childhood cancer. Please become a St. Jude Partner in Hope today by visiting musicgives.org.

In the new podcast, Hell in Heaven, two young Americans moved to the Costa Rican jungle to start over. But one will end up dead. The other tried for murder. Not once. People went wild. Not twice. Stunned. But three times. John and Anne Bender are rich and attractive, and they're devoted to each other. They create a nature reserve and build a spectacular circular home high on the top of a hill. But little by little, their dream starts to crumble. And our couple retreat from reality.

They lose it. They actually lose it.

They sort of went nuts. Until one night, everything spins out of control. Listen to Hell in Heaven on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

By early afternoon, we pull up behind the Tesla at Noah's Community Outreach, the halfway house where Leo will spend the next year. Leo and Pam walk into the office where he needs to check in.

Can I just walk in?

Yes.

I'm not used to this.

Okay.

Hey, Don.

Hey. I'm so scared. I don't even know what I'm doing.

Don't be scared. Don't be scared. I'm a sister. Don't you be scared. Uh-huh. We'll be here tomorrow, baby. Yeah, don't be scared. You're in the right place. Come on. Come on. It's okay. It's okay. Come on. It's okay. You're a free man. Yes, ma'am. You're a free man. That's all that matters right now. And we're here to help you, okay? Thank you. Mr. Parker's sister, okay?

Okay, my name's Leo Schofield. This is my sister, Pamela.

There you go. Well, you're going to the new house.

Yes, ma'am.

Look at God.

God is good, isn't he?

Look, I'm going to walk you to the new house.

Leo's shown to the house, one that's newly built, where a bed has been reserved for him.

I love the new, let me tell you, the new house off the chain. I love it. But we have eight ministry houses. Wow. And we just finished building that one. I mean, it's brand new.

Okay.

But first, he stopped by some familiar faces.

There's Greg right there. There's my buddy Greg. I know all these guys. There's Jimmy right here. What's happening? Thank you. God bless you too. This is my sister's family. Thank you. What's happening, bro? Man, it's been forever.

Most of the guys here are also recent graduates of the Everglades CI Corrections Transition Program. Leo spent a total of 10 months there, and in that time, 39 men were released on parole. Today, with Leo walking out, he's the 40th.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, too, brother. They seem to look better at them blues. Yeah, I know, that's right. I didn't see him.

Leo moves his stuff into his new home, which is clean, freshly painted, and sparse.

All this stuff, Pop?

Now that Leo is here and checked in, he's finally able to breathe, and he begins to reflect on his...

new surroundings and new existence.

You know, I think I was out of my element until we got here. You know, I needed to get here. What is strange to me?

Leo spins around in his seat to knock on the drywall behind him.

I could probably run through that with no problem. For real. I mean, I sense it. See, I've been in a concrete and steel block. solid unit for 36 years and you're not getting through that you know what I mean and you feel it you can just the sound of your voice inside something like that the way it's so enclosed and encased you know and inside those cells there's a sense of security you know you have a sense of safety in that as compared to this because if I can break through it who can break in it you know nobody's breaking in my C1201 cell you're not coming through that door if the door's locked you're not coming through unless it gets open you know you can run and crash into it all you want you know you're not coming in the walls are solid concrete they're not even blocked they're just slabs the single unit I mean whole fabricated that way and so there's a sense of of am I secure am I safe You know, so I don't feel 100% secure. I'm outside my element right now. And so, you know, that's when all you guys go, you know what I mean? And I've got to be by myself. I think I'm going to have a hard time tonight.

After seeing what will be his new home for the next year, we all head over to the Airbnb that David rented right down the block. It's still about a half hour too early to check in, so we all gather on the back porch. Leo pulls his new guitar out of the case to inspect. For weeks, Leo had been anticipating the opportunity to say a few words of gratitude and share some stories after his release. You can maybe sit up on the ledge to sit on this.

Let's see what it sounds like.

We were a smaller group than what would have been back at the hotel, but Leo still wanted to play something, even if it was just for a few people he was close to. Years ago, on one of our first visits to Hardy, Leo told us about the days and weeks after Michelle was killed, how he never really had the chance to properly grieve her death and the loss of the future they'd imagined together. Almost immediately, he was a suspect, having to fight for his own life. And once he was locked up, he told us, Showing grief, sadness, fear, anything other than anger, really, could make him a target and put him in danger. And anyway, he was young and had already struggled to express his emotions in a healthy way, even before all that. But playing music helped. I couldn't tell you what I was feeling, he told us, but I could sing it. I could play it through the guitar. And before his arrest in 1988, he'd written a song for Michelle. Sunset Mickey, he called it. The title references the nickname he'd had for Michelle a lifetime ago. The lyrics, he thinks now, are juvenile, but they reflect who he was at the time. A young man, immature, with his world turned upside down.

Sunset and Mickey, where are you now? I can hear you laughing in my heart somehow. I miss you in the morning and I love you at night. You were too young to die and it just ain't right And now that you're gone, my life ain't been the same I still hear you calling

Calling out my name alive and well But where are you now? We'll always be there, time after time But we'll soon be together with a love that'll last Broken hearts mended and troubles put to the past So think of me always, wherever you may be And look to the future, cause it's me you will see

Sunset naked Sunset Maker Sunset Maker Sunset Maker Sunset Maker

He told us that he'd sat at her graveside all those years ago before he ever set foot in a jail or prison and played the song for her. Leo never forgot the words. He said he'd tried playing it a few times in prison, but it was too painful, and he wasn't sure he could make it all the way through. we weren't sure we'd ever hear it.

leo has said recently that he was feeling conflicted about parole he was worried it meant he was giving in settling for parole when he deserves exoneration i've had my own moments of internal conflict about this not about parole itself but about celebrating before the fight is over. But this moment, seeing Leo openly grieving his wife 37 years later, while comforted by a family who drove halfway across the country to be here for him during this enormous life transition, this moment made me feel the magnitude of what has changed. To be able to kiss your wife and not be watched by a guard, to be able to visit with family and not have them subjected to a pat down. To be able to call a friend and not be announced by the facility you're locked up in. To open a drawer first thing in the morning and make a choice about what you want to wear that day. To play with your grandchildren and not be confined to a single patch of grass. To be able to measure time on your own terms, not by the prison count. And to sit outside at the end of the evening, watching the color of the sky change as the sun vanishes beneath the horizon, allowing yourself to finally grieve after 36 years finally

thank you I love you guys thank you thanks for sharing

bone valley is a production of lava for good podcasts in association with signal company number one our executive producers are jason flom jeff kempler and kevin wordis kara kornhaber is our senior producer brit spangler is our sound designer Roxandra Guidi is our editor, and our researcher and producer is Kelsey Decker. Sunset Mickey was written and performed by Leo Schofield. Our theme song, The One Who's Holding the Stars, was written by Kevin Herrick and Leo Schofield and performed in this episode by Lee Bob and the Truth and Leo Schofield. Bone Valley, Halfway Home, was written by Kelsey Decker and produced by me, Gilbert King.

Do you hear me?

My madness Laughter hides my fears Sorrow's depths are endless In this valley of tears I want to see your revelation I want to know who you are I'm reaching out in desperation To the one who's holding the stars To the one who's holding the stars To the one who's holding the stars Do you know my groaning? Will you touch my heart? Can you see my longing? To be free from the dark? And I want to see your revelation And I want to know who you are I'm reaching out in desperation To the one who's holding the stars To the one who's holding the stars To one who's holding the star To one who's holding the star To one who's holding the star

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