Man Imprisoned 16 Years For Wrongful Conviction Fatally Shot By Cop

A man who endured 16 years of wrongful imprisonment in Florida and was ultimately exonerated in 2020, was killed during a traffic stop in Georgia on Monday. Leonard Cure, 53, had spent more than a decade and a half in prison after being convicted of armed robbery in Florida back in 2003, according to information from the Broward County State Attorney’s Office. In 2020, he became the first person to be exonerated through the state attorney’s office Conviction Review Unit, following a comprehensive reinvestigation that established his innocence.

Only three years after his release, Cure was fatally shot during a traffic stop on Interstate 95 Northbound by a deputy from Camden County, as disclosed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in a news release.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation released this summary of events: “Preliminary information indicates that at about 7:30 a.m. [on Monday, October 16, 2023], a Camden County deputy initiated a traffic stop on Interstate 95 Northbound, just south of Mile Marker 9 in Camden County, GA. The driver of the car, later identified as Leonard Allan Cure, age 53, got out of the car at the deputy’s request. Cure complied with the officer’s commands until learning that he was under arrest. After not complying with the deputy’s requests, the deputy tased Cure. Cure assaulted the deputy. The deputy used the Taser for a second time and an ASP baton; however, Cure still did not comply. The deputy pulled out his gun and shot Cure. EMT’s treated Cure, but he later died.”

The specific cause of the traffic stop and the grounds for Cure’s arrest remain unclear at this time.

Statement from Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor: “We are devastated by the death of Leonard Cure, who was the first person exonerated by our Conviction Review Unit. The Leonard we knew was a smart, funny and kind person. 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.

Leonard was so excited that the Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis had recently approved his claims bill. He had been working a job in security, he was hoping to go to college and wanted to work in broadcast radio production, he was buying his first home.

We send our sincerest condolences to his family and all who knew him.”

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