Push for clemency intensifies for man convicted in death of 14-year-old Pinellas girl

TAMPA, Fla. - Lawyers representing death row inmate James Dailey pledged new evidence will clear their client, as a statewide push to halt his execution gains steam.

Attorney Joshua Dubin said Dailey holds out hope Gov. Ron DeSantis will grant him a clemency hearing.

The governor signed Dailey's death warrant and scheduled his execution for Nov. 7, but a federal judge granted a stay until Dec. 30.

"James Dailey had nothing to do with this crime, period."

Dailey was originally implicated by Jack Pearcy, who got a life sentence in the stabbing death of Shelly Boggio, 14, whose body was found on Indian Rocks Beach in 1985. 

While Dailey had been with him earlier that night, Pearcy later said he alone killed Boggio. 

However, another inmate, Paul Skalnik testified Dailey confessed in jail. But Skalnik's credibility is being questioned after an investigative story was published by Pro Publica, arguing he was a fallback witness for the state in dozens of cases.

"The very foundation of that case was the testimony of a known fraud and con man who has been exposed," said Dubin.

Along with the Florida Innocence Project, former Jacksonville State Attorney Harry Shorstein wrote in the Miami Herald, "There is powerful evidence that Dailey is innocent. There was never any eyewitness or forensic evidence implicating him."

"The main witness against him was in jail," Shorstein said during an interview. "They often are the most unreliable witnesses."

Boggio's family told FOX 13 in September, "Those monsters brutally butchered her."

And the Tampa Bay Times says the federal judge who granted the stay said the original case against Dailey wasn't strong, but sufficient. 

His lawyer pledges to present new evidence.

"This is, in many ways, a desperate cry in the night for help," said Dubin. "We need to speak truth to power."

Dailey's lawyer says his legal team is making written overtures to the governor's office for a clemency hearing. Clemency has not been granted by a Florida governor since 1985. Florida has had 29 exonerations from death row, more than any other state.