A Black man who spent more than 16 years imprisoned in Florida on a wrongful conviction was fatally shot Monday by a sheriff’s deputy in Georgia during a traffic stop, authorities said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is reviewing the shooting, identified the man as Leonard Allen Cure, 53.
Cure had been represented in his exoneration case by the Innocence Project of Florida. The group’s executive director, Seth Miller, said he was devastated by news of the death, 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.
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The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said a Camden County deputy pulled over Cure as he drove along Interstate 95 near the Georgia-Florida line. He got out of the car at the deputy’s request and 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 Cure with a stun gun when he failed to obey commands, and Cure 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 Cure when he continued to resist.
The agency didn’t say what prompted the deputy to pull over Cure’s vehicle.
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.
Miller couldn’t comment specifically on Cure 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…
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