KINGSLAND, Ga. — A man who spent greater than 16 years in prison in Florida on a wrongful conviction was once shot and killed Monday by means of a sheriff’s deputy in Georgia right through a site visitors prevent, government and representatives mentioned.
Leonard Allen Cure, 53, was once known by means of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is reviewing the taking pictures.
His dying was once showed by means of Seth Miller, government director of the Innocence Project of Florida, which represented Cure in his exoneration case.
Miller mentioned he was once devastated by means of the news, which he heard from Cure’s circle of relatives.
“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 mentioned a Camden County deputy pulled over a motive force alongside Interstate 95 close to the Georgia-Florida line and the motive force were given out of the auto on the deputy’s request. He cooperated in the beginning however turned into violent after he was once informed he was once being arrested, a GBI news unencumber mentioned.
The company mentioned initial information displays the deputy surprised the motive force with a stun gun when he did not obey instructions, and the motive force then started assaulting the deputy. The GBI mentioned the deputy once more attempted the usage of the stun gun and a baton to subdue him, then drew his gun and shot the motive force when he persevered to withstand.
The company did not say what brought on the deputy to tug over Cure’s automobile.
Miller could not remark in particular on Cure’s dying however mentioned he has represented dozens of other folks convicted of crimes who have been 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 mentioned.
It is standard for Georgia regulation enforcement companies to invite the GBI to analyze shootings involving officials. The company mentioned it’ll post its findings to the district lawyer for the coastal Brunswick Judicial Circuit, which incorporates Camden County.
Cure was once convicted of the 2003 armed theft of a drug retailer in Florida’s Dania Beach and sentenced to lifestyles in prison as a result of he had earlier convictions for theft and different crimes.
But the case had problems from the beginning and his conviction got here from a 2nd jury after the primary one deadlocked.
In 2020, the Broward State Attorney’s Office new Conviction Review Unit requested a pass judgement on to unencumber Cure from prison. Broward’s conviction evaluation crew mentioned it discovered (*16*) revelations that Cure had cast alibis that have been in the past brushed aside and no bodily proof or cast witnesses to place him on the scene. An impartial evaluation panel of 5 native legal professionals concurred with the findings.
Cure was once launched that April after his sentenced was once changed. That December, a pass judgement on vacated his conviction and sentence.
“I’m looking forward to putting this situation behind me and moving on with my life,” Cure informed the South Florida Sun Sentinel on the time.
In June, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a claims invoice granting Cure $817,000 in repayment for his conviction and imprisonment at the side of tutorial advantages.
Miller mentioned Cure, who lived in a suburb of Atlanta, won the cash in August.
“The Leonard we knew was a smart, funny and kind person,” Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor mentioned in a commentary to the Sun Sentinel Monday night. “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.”
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