A deputy in Camden County, Georgia, shot and killed Leonard “Lenny” Allen Cure during a traffic stop, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. (Image: Innocence Project Florida)
A deputy in Georgia shot and killed Leonard Allan Cure, 53, a man who spent 16 years in prison for a wrongful conviction of robbery. Now state authorities are investigating.
Even the Florida prosecutors who helped Leonard Allan Cure, 53, get out of prison remembered him as “smart, funny and kind.” Having gotten $817,000 from the state of Florida in compensation for a wrongful robbery conviction, he had moved to the Atlanta area and was working security, with plans to attend college for music production. But his recent visit to his mother in South Florida was the last time he would see her.
A deputy pulled him over in Camden County, Georgia, along Interstate 95 on his way back home. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation claims Cure assaulted the deputy, and that the law enforcement officer shot him after a stun gun and baton did not work.
“Cure complied with the officer’s commands until learning that he was under arrest,” authorities said. “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 agency announced that it is running an independent investigation into the incident and will pass the case to the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.
The Camden County Sheriff’s Office referred to the shooting in a Facebook post on Monday and said that false information was circulating through news outlets and local rumors, but did not elaborate on what this misinformation was supposed to be. The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a Law&Crime request for comment.
“We are devastated by the death of Leonard Cure, who was the first person exonerated by our Conviction Review Unit,” the Broward State Attorney’s Office in Florida said. “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.”
Authorities previously charged Cure with robbing a Walgreens in Broward County, Florida, in 2003. The Innocence Project of Florida said, however, that an ATM receipt proved Lenny was miles from the scene of the crime when it happened. They also said the photo array was “an unreliable, suggestive identification procedure” because it featured multiple pictures of him when shown to one of the victims.
“Lenny, as we knew him, was wrongfully convicted in 2003 of the armed robbery of a Walgreens in Broward County, Florida,” the Innocence Project of Florida said. “At the time of his arrest, Lenny had a job and close family members, including his mother and brother. Due to his wrongful conviction, Lenny was sentenced to prison for the rest of his natural life and remained separated from his family for 16 years before his eventual exoneration.”
Cure sent Broward prosecutors a petition in 2019 to review his case.
Worried about what the review revealed, Berger asked the Innocence Project of Florida to help him.
“Following the initial review of the case, the State Attorney’s Office had serious concerns about Cure’s guilt and continued incarceration,” Broward prosecutors wrote. “Prosecutors made the decision to release Cure from prison on April 14, 2020. After his release, prosecutors continued to investigate the case and presented their findings to the Independent Review Panel. The panel and the State Attorney’s Office concluded that he was innocent and that it was in the best interest of justice to overturn the conviction in December of 2020.”
Florida Government Ron DeSantis signed a claims bill awarding Cure $817,000 and 120 hours of college tuition and fees.
“No amount of money will get those years back for Mr. Cure or give him peace,” Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor previously said about the claims bill, “but it is a small gesture that recognizes Mr. Cure was wronged and that we, in the State of Florida and in the justice system, will help him and compensate him.”
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