Sometimes I think Jeremy Scott was the luckiest man in central Florida. He admitted to getting away with killing Jewel Johnson in 1985 after he was acquitted of her murder. Detective Richard Putnel investigated both Jewel Johnson’s murder and Michelle’s murder, but he never thought to compare the prints found in Michelle’s car to Jeremy Scott, who was out of jail and staying about a mile away from where Michelle’s body was found. About six weeks later, taxicab driver Joseph Lavair was murdered in nearby Intercession City—another murder Jeremy ultimately admitted to. But the State instead tried to convict an innocent man for that murder, too. So Jeremy once again escaped justice.
I’m actually appalled that these tough on crime law enforcement agencies have become Jeremy Scott enablers in order to either protect one of their convictions, or avoid the humility of having their corrupt investigations exposed. That’s why it’s so important to tell these stories. As Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously said, “Sunshine is the best disinfectant.”

-GK