In Florida, death row inmate James Dailey faces imminent execution. No physical or forensic evidence ties him to the crime. Prosecutors won a conviction with the help of a prolific conman-turned-jailhouse-snitch named Paul Skalnik. 1/ propublica.org/article/hes-a-… 
My investigation into Skalnik shows he lied about most everything, even his own name. He passed himself off as a decorated fighter pilot, a college football star, an airline executive, a Homeland Security agent, a real estate developer, a terminally ill cancer patient. 2/
Skalnik was criminally charged 30+ times, usually for crimes that involved fraud. When he got caught, he often used his get-out-of-jail-free card: he’d tell cops and prosecutors that he’d heard other inmates in the jail, who were awaiting trial, confess to their crimes. 3/
Skalnik was the perfect witness for weak, circumstantial cases. He was a great storyteller and he provided the sort of incendiary details that made juries want to convict. He told of victims begging for their lives and of remorseless killers who laughed after their slaughters. 4/
To hear Skalnik tell it, men in jail loved to confess to him—men who were awaiting trial and had everything to lose. In Pinellas County, Florida, he testified or provided information in at least 37 different criminal cases. Four of those defendants were sentenced to death. 5/
Because Skalnik was a known snitch, he was held in protective custody, in a cell where he was shielded from inmates who might want to do him harm. Despite this impediment, he claimed men kept confessing to him—as they walked by his cell, or through the fence in the rec yard. 6/
At James Dailey’s trial, a prosecutor assured the jury that Skalnik was “honest” and “reliable.” A detective also attested to his truthfulness. Skalnik told jurors that he was not getting anything in return for his testimony. 7/
Jurors never knew that Skalnik had a powerful motive to lie. He was released FIVE DAYS after Dailey was sentenced to death. A Florida Parole and Probation Commission memo stated that his release was ‘‘due to his cooperation with the State Attorney’s Office” in Dailey's trial. 8/
There was plenty of evidence that Dailey's housemate, Jack Pearcy, killed 14-year-old Shelly Boggio. In fact, prosecutors had previously told a judge that ‘‘no evidence exists that Pearcy was not the main actor in this child’s brutal murder.’’ 9/
Pearcy told cops he drove Boggio to the lovers’ lane where she was killed. He admitted to stabbing her at least once, and provided details about the crime that were known only to investigators. But he insisted that it was Dailey who was the actual killer. 10/
Pearcy, who had a history of arrests for violence against women, has previously suggested—but never explicitly said—that he killed Boggio. Yet today he is serving a life sentence, with the possibility of parole. Dailey is on death row. 11/
Dailey has no history of violence against women. He was with Pearcy for only part of the night in question. He has always maintained his innocence and says he was asleep when Pearcy last took Boggio out. Nothing—other than Pearcy’s word—places him at the scene of the crime. 12/
This fall, @GovRonDeSantis signed Dailey's death warrant and gave him a Nov. 7 execution date. A federal judge later granted Dailey a limited stay of execution. That stay ends on Dec. 31.
Gov. DeSantis could schedule Dailey's execution as soon as January. 13/
Gov. DeSantis could schedule Dailey's execution as soon as January. 13/
@GovRonDeSantis The state attorney’s office in Clearwater claims all the info Skalnik provided was independently verified & that prosecutors never granted him leniency. Skalnik, currently in a nursing home in Texas, insists he always told the truth. He proudly told me, “I never lost a case.” 14/
@GovRonDeSantis I hope you’ll read my story, co-published by @propublica and @NYTmag, about Skalnik and the role he played in Dailey’s case. Then ask yourself: did Dailey—and the other men Skalnik testified against, some of whom remain behind bars—receive fair trials? nytimes.com/2019/12/04/mag…
