Shiping Bao, Medical Examiner In Zimmerman Trial, To File $100M Lawsuit Claiming Prosecution Threw Case [VIDEO]
As news of medical examiner Shiping Bao’s firing went public Tuesday, Florida television station WFTV dropped another bombshell: Bao — one of the prosecution’s key witnesses in the Trayvon Martin case — is preparing a $100 million lawsuit claiming that the state attorney’s office was biased against the slain teen and wanted his killer, George Zimmerman, to walk free.
"He says their general attitude was that [Trayvon Martin] got what he deserved," attorney Willie Gary told WFTV. "He was in essence told to zip his lips. 'Shut up. Don't say those things.’”
Bao claims that the prosecution never asked him the questions that were crucial to its success in the case. Between the time that Bao initially examined Martin and the time he took the stand, Bao changed his opinion. Though Vulisia County did not list his participation in the Zimmerman trial as a reason for his firing, it is speculated that Bao’s stance on changing his opinion during trial may have contributed to his dismissal.
"If you have new information, new experiences, you read a new book, you change your opinion," Bao said. "If someone never changes opinion, you can call them mentally retarded. You never learn, right?"
Bao told the court that the amount of marijuana in the teen’s system at the time of his death wouldn’t have an effect on Martin’s ability to reason. However, during the trial, he said that the marijuana could have impacted his mental state.
Twenty-nine-year-old Zimmerman was acquitted in the murder of 17-year-old Martin on July 13. Though he admittedly killed the teenager, Zimmerman claimed he did so in self-defense. Since his acquittal, Zimmerman has been in the news for receiving two speeding tickets and a domestic dispute with his wife
Based on the report by WFTV, the former medical examiner has proof of the state’s alleged bias against Martin. The new evidence, if presented in the suit, will not have any bearing on Zimmerman's acquittal. The legal doctrine of double jeopardy prevents criminal defendants from being tried twice for the same offense.
The details of the suit that Bao is preparing are still developing.