Leonard Cure, a man who had recently been exonerated after serving 16 years for a wrongful conviction, was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy during a routine traffic stop in Georgia.
In 2003 Cure was wrongfully convicted of armed robbery in Broward County, Florida. The conviction was based on unreliable eyewitness testimony and a flawed identification procedure. Despite evidence showing that Cure was miles away from the crime scene at the time of the robbery, he was sentenced to life in prison.
For years, Cure fought to prove his innocence, filing multiple appeals for post-conviction relief. However, his pleas fell on deaf ears, and he remained behind bars. It wasn’t until 2019 when the Broward State Attorney’s Office established a conviction review unit, that Cure’s case was reviewed.
As part of the conviction review process, new evidence came to light, including an ATM receipt that placed Cure far from the scene of the crime. The Florida Innocence Project took up Cure’s case, conducting a thorough investigation that ultimately revealed his innocence.
In April 2020, Cure’s conviction was vacated, and he was released from prison after serving 16 years of his life sentence.
Leonard Cure’s quest a fresh start came to asn end during a routine traffic stop just across the Florida state line in Georgia. The events leading up to his untimely death were captured on body-worn and dash cameras.
On Wednesday, Camden County, Georgia officials made dash cam footage of Leonard Cure’s interaction with a sheriff’s deputy available to the public.
The footage shows Cure just before he was shot and killed during the traffic stop.
According to deputies, on Monday, Cure, 53, was pulled over on Interstate 95 slightly north of the Florida border after sheriff’s officers reported that his pickup had been observed exceeding 100 miles per hour.
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Once pulled over, Cure can be seen getting out of his pickup truck and refusing to comply with the deputy’s instructions.
During the confrontation, the deputy repeatedly ordered Cure to exit his vehicle and comply with his commands. Cure’s resistance led to the deployment of a Taser, but the situation quickly escalated into a physical struggle. Cure grabbed the deputy’s throat and face, prompting the use of a baton for self-defense. Ultimately, a gunshot was fired, and Cure fell to the ground.
The video below is graphic and could be disturbing to some viewers. If the video below does not display visit Cops and Crime.
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