TX forensic commission chair among dueling experts in Zimmerman trial

Grits intentionally boycotted (to the extent humanly possible) press coverage of the George Zimmerman trial and so had not realized that Dr. Vincent Di Maio, the chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, was a key witness for the defense among the dueling experts presenting evidence at trial, contradicting many of the findings of  Flordia medical examiners testifying for the state. Find below the jump an excerpt from the Business Insider identifying key elements of Di Maio's testimony:

Di Maio, a renowned expert on gunshot wounds, told jurors Tuesday he saw evidence of at least six impacts on Zimmerman's head. He also said those blows were likely the result of severe force, backing up Zimmerman's claims he killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in self-defense.

That testimony contradicted testimony from Valerie Rao, a Florida medical examiner who testified for the state that Zimmerman's head injuries were "so minor" and were likely the result of a single impact.

But Di Maio said Tuesday, "You can have severe head trauma without any marks on the head."

Di Maio's account also conflicted with that of Shipping Bao, the medical examiner who autopsied Martin and testified that Zimmerman's gun made contact with the teenager's body.

Based on powder residue and the gun's trajectory, however, Di Maio said the gun was 2 to 4 inches from Martin's body, touching his shirt. Since Martin's shirt was away from his body, this also suggests that Martin was on top of Zimmerman, leaning over him, Di Maio said.

Based on these contradictions, we can say for sure that erroneous forensic testimony by one or more medical examiners was entered into evidence in this case. It's just impossible to say from a distance which side introduced it.

How this tragic local case with no significant public-policy implications transformed into a national obsession says more about the MSM and its atrocious crime coverage than it tells us anything probative about self defense claims, Florida's "stand your ground" law, or racial inequities in the justice system. Grits finds repulsive the cynicism exhibited by news outlets like CNN that hyped the story incessantly for profit while giving short shrift to far more important legal news (e.g., a slew of important, recent Supreme Court rulings that didn't receive nearly as much play). The grotesque circus surrounding the Zimmerman trial to me exemplified all that's wrong with MSM crime coverage in the 21st century.