A Black man who spent more than 16 years in prison on a wrongful conviction was fatally shot Monday by a sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop in Georgia. He enjoyed three years of freedom before his death.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is probing the shooting, identified the man as Leonard “Lenny” Allen Cure, 53.
Cure was convicted in 2003 for the armed robbery of a Walgreens in Broward County, Florida. Because he had prior convictions for robbery and other crimes, he was sentenced to life in prison.
The Innocence Project of Florida helped reinvestigate Cure’s case, along with Broward County prosecutors, and was able to get a judge to overturn Cure’s conviction in December 2020. Prosecutors said they 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.
“After his exoneration, Lenny reconnected with his family and started a new life outside of Atlanta, Georgia,” the Innocence Project of Florida wrote in a statement.
“Lenny was doing well and aspired to attend college for music production and start a career in the music business. Sadly his life was tragically cut short.”
On Monday, a sheriff’s deputy in Camden County, Georgia pulled Cure over at around 7:30 a.m. on Interstate 95.
Cure got out of his car at the deputy’s request and “complied with the officer’s commands until learning that he was under arrest,” the Georgia Bureau Investigation wrote in a press release.
When Cure stopped cooperating, the deputy used his taser on Cure.
“Cure assaulted the deputy. The deputy used the Taser for a second time and (a police) baton. However, Cure still did not comply,” authorities wrote.
That’s when the deputy pulled out his gun and shot Cure. Emergency medical responders attempted to treat Cure but he later succumbed to this injuries.
The agency didn’t say what prompted the deputy to pull over Cure’s vehicle.
The executive director of the Innocence Project of Florida, Seth Miller, said he was devastated by the news of Cure’s death. He heard of the shooting 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 in an interview with the Associated Press.
Miller says he’s represented dozens of people wrongfully convicted of crimes. While he can’t comment specifically on the circumstances of Cure’s death, he said that exonerated people “always (struggle) with the concern, the fear that they’ll be convicted and incarcerated again for something they didn’t do.”
The Camden County Sheriff’s Office, whose deputy shot and killed Cure, says it will release dash camera and body camera footage of the shooting Wednesday afternoon.
“The video will show the traffic offenses of speeding over 100 mph and Reckless Driving which occurred prior to the body camera video of the Deputy’s encounter with Leonard Cure,” the statement reads.
Prior to this post, the Camden County Sheriff’s Office claimed that false information was circulating around Cure’s death.
“The news media, and rumors within the community, have provided the public with misinformation,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “It is common for rumors to occur, but blatant false information by some media representatives should not be tolerated.”
It’s unclear what false information the sheriff’s office is referring to.
Cure was granted US$817,000 in compensation from the state of Florida for his wrongful conviction and imprisonment, as well as education benefits.
The Innocence Project of Florida said he received the compensation mere months ago, on August 9. He was in the process of buying a home with the funds.
The reinvestigation into Cure’s conviction was one of the first handled by the Broward State Attorney’s Office new Conviction Review Unit. In collaboration with the Innocence Project of Florida, investigators found an ATM receipt that showed Cure was miles away from the scene of the crime at the time of the robbery he supposedly committed.
Further, one of the victims of the robbery was shown multiple photos of Cure in a photo line-up of suspects, “and was therefore and unreliable, suggestive identification procedure,” the Innocence Project of Florida writes.
Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor described Cure as smart, funny and kind.
“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,” Pryor said in a statement to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Cure would frequently call to check in on Assistant State Attorney Arielle Demby Berger, the head of the Conviction Review Unit, and offer encouragement to continue to do “the important work of justice,” Pryor said.
When Cure was released in 2020, he told the Sun Sentinel he was “looking forward to putting this situation behind me and moving on with my life.”
Cure’s death represents the 80th officer-involved shooting in Georgia this year, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. This was the fourth police shooting in the past week.
It is customary for Georgia law enforcement agencies to ask the Georgia Bureau of Investigations to probe 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.
— with files from The Associated Press
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