According to a 2024 YouGov survey, 57% of Americans consume true crime content, with women making up the majority of the audience. Many respondents said the genre helps them better understand the criminal justice system while also making them more aware of their surroundings.
One story that highlights those concerns is “Catch the Devil”, a book that investigates one of Florida's most notorious jailhouse informants and the convictions tied to his testimony.
Set between the 1980s and 1990s, the book traces the story of Paul Skalnik, a jailhouse informant whose testimony helped convict several people, including Jim Dailey, a Pinellas County man who was sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit after prosecutors relied on Skalnik’s false testimony.
Author Pamela Colloff told “Florida Matters Live & Local” that the idea for the book began in 2018. While searching for a story involving jailhouse informants, she received a “tip” about Skalnik and his role in multiple criminal cases.
“I had always been looking for a story that had a jailhouse snitch in it, because it's always a red flag that something's wrong with the case. It means prosecutors don't have enough,” Colloff said. “Doesn't necessarily indicate innocence, just means there's a problem.”
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Colloff recalls that when she went to visit him in prison, he “sensed” that she wanted to have access to him.
“He had a gift for figuring out what it was that people longed for or needed,” Colloff said.
Although Skalnik initially appeared eager to participate in the project, Colloff said his willingness quickly faded. During the interview, she read a passage from "Catch the Devil" describing how he repeatedly delayed interviews, claiming he had not received her letters or was too ill to respond, before eventually cutting off communication altogether.
“He wrote often, describing the daily indignities of prison life and his fear of dying alone, but never a word about Pinellas County,” Colloff said. “I refused to admit to myself until it was much too late that Skalnik had been stringing me along. Months after our visit, when I was still holding out hope that he might talk, he wrote to say that my questions were making him uneasy. Then he went dark on me.”
One of Skalnik's most notable victims was Jim Dailey, a military veteran accused of murdering a 14-year-old girl in Pinellas County. Colloff said there was no physical evidence or clear motive linking Dailey to the crime. Instead, prosecutors relied heavily on Skalnik's testimony.
“When we look at Jim Dailey’s case, this is someone where there was no physical evidence, no forensic evidence, no motive, no nothing, just the word of the person who had likely committed this crime,” Colloff said. “And so when you had Skalnik come into the courtroom and on the stand and tell these stories that were so persuasive, that was enormously helpful to jurors.”
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She added that while Skalnik was in jail - or pre-trial - he would repeatedly identify the defendant who would be most valuable to prosecutors and testify against them in many cases in exchange for leniency.
“He would figure out who was most valuable to prosecutors and police, and he would then claim that whoever the most valuable person was had confessed to him,” Colloff said. “He would then tell an elaborate story on the stand that wove together details that he got from newspaper clippings and court filings that sounded persuasive, and then he would throw in these very incendiary details that helped prosecutors not just get convictions but extremely punishing sentences.”
Readers interested in “Catch the Devil” can learn more about the book or purchase a copy through Tombolo Books.
This story was compiled from interviews conducted by Matthew Peddie for "Florida Matters Live & Local." You can listen to the full interview with Pamela Colloff here.
