Georgia deputy shoots man who spent 16 yrs in prison on wrongful conviction

A man who spent more than 16 years in prison in Florida on a wrongful conviction was shot and killed on Monday by a sheriff's deputy in Georgia during a traffic stop, authorities and representatives said.

Leonard Allen Cure, 53, was identified by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is reviewing the shooting.

His death was confirmed by Seth Miller, executive director of the Innocence Project of Florida, which represented Cure in his exoneration case.

Miller said he was devastated by the news, which he heard from Cure's family.

I can only imagine what it's like to know your son is innocent and watch him be sentenced to life in prison, to be exonerated and ... then be told that once he's been freed, he's been shot dead," Miller said. "I can't imagine as a parent what that feels like.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said a Camden County deputy pulled over a driver along Interstate 95 near the Georgia-Florida line and the driver got out of the car at the deputy's request. He cooperated at first but became violent after he was told he was being arrested, a GBI news release said.

The agency said preliminary information shows the deputy shocked the driver with a stun gun when he failed to obey commands, and the driver then began assaulting the deputy. The GBI said the deputy again tried using the stun gun and a baton to subdue him, then drew his gun and shot the driver when he continued to resist.

The agency didn't say what prompted the deputy to pull over Cure's vehicle.

Miller couldn't comment specifically on Cure's death but said he has represented dozens of people convicted of crimes who were later exonerated.

Even when they're free, they always struggled with the concern, the fear that they'll be convicted and incarcerated again for something they didn't do, he said.

It is customary for Georgia law enforcement agencies to ask the GBI to investigate shootings involving officers. The agency said it will submit its findings to the district attorney for the coastal Brunswick Judicial Circuit, which includes Camden County.

Cure was convicted of the 2003 armed robbery of a drug store in Florida's Dania Beach and sentenced to life in prison because he had previous convictions for robbery and other crimes.

But the case had issues from the start and his conviction came from a second jury after the first one deadlocked.

In 2020, the Broward State Attorney's Office new Conviction Review Unit asked a judge to release Cure from prison. Broward's conviction review team said it found troubling revelations that Cure had solid alibis that were previously disregarded and no physical evidence or solid witnesses to put him at the scene. An independent review panel of five local lawyers concurred with the findings.

Cure was released that April after his sentenced was modified. That December, a judge vacated his conviction and sentence.

I'm looking forward to putting this situation behind me and moving on with my life, Cure told the South Florida Sun Sentinel at the time.

In June, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a claims bill granting Cure USD 817,000 in compensation for his conviction and imprisonment along with educational benefits.

Miller said Cure, who lived in a suburb of Atlanta, received the money in August.

The Leonard we knew was a smart, funny and kind person, Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor said in a statement to the Sun Sentinel Monday evening. After he was freed and exonerated by our office, he visited prosecutors at our office and participated in training to help our staff do their jobs in the fairest and most thorough way possible. He would frequently call to check in on Assistant State Attorney Arielle Demby Berger, the head of the Conviction Review Unit, and offer our team encouragement to continue to do the important work of justice.