Washington D.C., Jan 20, 2020 / 12:30 pm
The U.S. bishops' conference and the bishops of Florida are calling for a Florida death row inmate to be given a new trial, in light of evidence the bishops say suggests the inmate is actually innocent.
"The deeply troubling facts of Mr. Dailey's conviction and death sentence raise profound moral questions," the bishops said in a brief submitted Jan. 17 to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"The evidence of Mr. Dailey's actual innocence is not only credible; it is overwhelming," the bishops added.
"The only just and legal solution is to require a remand for a new trial." The brief was filed in support of a petition for a new trial from James Dailey, who was convicted of the brutal 1985 murder of a 14-year-old girl, Shelly Boggio.
Dailey was connected to the murder after he being named by Jack Pearcy, who was also convicted of killing Boggio. Pearcy was Dailey's roommate in 1985. When Pearcy was apprehended for the murder of Boggio, he told police it was Dailey who had done the killing.