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Bone Valley : A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida
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Overview
From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King comes a chilling exploration of one of America's most haunting wrongful conviction cases. Based on the hit podcast, Bone Valley dives into the dark heart of rural Florida, where a young man's life was upended by a tragic miscarriage of justice.
"Captivating, enraging, and all too true." --Bob Kolker, New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Valley Road "Bone Valley is a work of rare moral clarity and deep compassion." ―Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking In 1987, Leo Schofield was arrested and charged with the murder of his wife, Michelle. Always insistent on his innocence, he was poorly served by his legal defense: the investigation was sloppy, the case flimsy, and numerous pieces of evidence were ignored. He was sentenced to life in prison. Over thirty years later, Gilbert King is tipped off to Leo's case and is astonished by what he found: layers of corruption, flawed evidence, and deep-seated errors. He can't shake the story and starts to get to know Leo and his family. Leo shows an incomprehensible amount of grace and love about his situation, which spurs Gilbert even more to tell his story. Bone Valley is at once a revelatory investigation into a murder, a chilling portrait of the criminal justice system, and a uniquely powerful story of grace and redemption. Gilbert King has written a new classic of narrative nonfiction.Customers Also Bought
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9781250368546
- ISBN-10: 1250368545
- Publisher: Flatiron Books
- Publish Date: October 2025
- Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.35 pounds
- Page Count: 384
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In Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King (Devil in the Grove) explores a long-standing and ongoing miscarriage of justice for a man convicted of murder. It’s a marked departure from King’s previous historical accounts examining racial injustice in the Jim Crow South. “I didn’t set out to write this story,” King writes. “It came to me slowly, then all at once—first as a name on a business card handed to me by a judge, then as a case file, and eventually as a visit to a Florida prison.” There he met Leo Schofield, imprisoned for the 1987 murder of his wife, Michelle. Schofield, then 22, had steadfastly proclaimed his innocence, even when offered a deal that would have released him from prison after only a few years. King also met Jeremy Scott, an incarcerated serial killer who confessed to Michelle’s murder nearly two decades after Schofield’s conviction, and whose handprint was found in Michelle’s car but never processed for Schofield’s original trial. Despite this evidence, Schofield was repeatedly denied parole until finally released in 2024, and he continues to crusade for his exoneration. King’s account draws on more than six years of reporting with his research partner Kelsey Decker. The pair launched their Bone Valley podcast in 2022, and its two seasons (with a third on the way) trace Schofield’s story. With so many layers and intricacies, it definitely warrants its own book. It’s not a rehashing of the podcast; Bone Valley has a broad, cinematic scope, bringing to mind Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy. King’s vivid descriptions of his and Decker’s involvement in the case through their podcast adds a helpful, often entertaining framework to this complex tale. “We weren’t just reporting on the case anymore; we were in it,” he writes. “At times, I’d joke that it felt like we were stepping into our own version of In Cold Blood,” with detail-oriented Decker as Harper Lee and chatty King as Truman Capote. King’s belief in Schofield makes his account shine, and Schofield is admirable for his grace in forgiving Scott for his atrocity. Even Scott ends up drawing sympathy: While his crimes are unforgivable, his unimaginably tumultuous upbringing was marked by instability and violence, and it may be one of the more dire accounts readers are likely to encounter. King notes that violent crime is not a natural draw for him or Decker: “Our focus had always been on uncovering the truth and seeking accountability.” In this way, Bone Valley transcends the true crime genre, laying bare injustice and exploring the humanity of the confessed killer, while never losing sight of the young woman who lost her life and the accused husband who continues to fight on her behalf. King concludes, “This story was no longer just about guilt or innocence. It was about faith, resilience, and hope—something deeply human, rooted in Leo.” Bone Valley draws readers right into an unforgettable story that’s full of desperation and grace.
In Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King (Devil in the Grove) explores a long-standing and ongoing miscarriage of justice for a man convicted of murder. It’s a marked departure from King’s previous historical accounts examining racial injustice in the Jim Crow South. “I didn’t set out to write this story,” King writes. “It came to me slowly, then all at once—first as a name on a business card handed to me by a judge, then as a case file, and eventually as a visit to a Florida prison.” There he met Leo Schofield, imprisoned for the 1987 murder of his wife, Michelle. Schofield, then 22, had steadfastly proclaimed his innocence, even when offered a deal that would have released him from prison after only a few years. King also met Jeremy Scott, an incarcerated serial killer who confessed to Michelle’s murder nearly two decades after Schofield’s conviction, and whose handprint was found in Michelle’s car but never processed for Schofield’s original trial. Despite this evidence, Schofield was repeatedly denied parole until finally released in 2024, and he continues to crusade for his exoneration. King’s account draws on more than six years of reporting with his research partner Kelsey Decker. The pair launched their Bone Valley podcast in 2022, and its two seasons (with a third on the way) trace Schofield’s story. With so many layers and intricacies, it definitely warrants its own book. It’s not a rehashing of the podcast; Bone Valley has a broad, cinematic scope, bringing to mind Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy. King’s vivid descriptions of his and Decker’s involvement in the case through their podcast adds a helpful, often entertaining framework to this complex tale. “We weren’t just reporting on the case anymore; we were in it,” he writes. “At times, I’d joke that it felt like we were stepping into our own version of In Cold Blood,” with detail-oriented Decker as Harper Lee and chatty King as Truman Capote. King’s belief in Schofield makes his account shine, and Schofield is admirable for his grace in forgiving Scott for his atrocity. Even Scott ends up drawing sympathy: While his crimes are unforgivable, his unimaginably tumultuous upbringing was marked by instability and violence, and it may be one of the more dire accounts readers are likely to encounter. King notes that violent crime is not a natural draw for him or Decker: “Our focus had always been on uncovering the truth and seeking accountability.” In this way, Bone Valley transcends the true crime genre, laying bare injustice and exploring the humanity of the confessed killer, while never losing sight of the young woman who lost her life and the accused husband who continues to fight on her behalf. King concludes, “This story was no longer just about guilt or innocence. It was about faith, resilience, and hope—something deeply human, rooted in Leo.” Bone Valley draws readers right into an unforgettable story that’s full of desperation and grace.