Man who spent 16 years in prison on wrongful conviction shot, killed by Camden deputy on I-95

CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. — A Camden County deputy shot and killed a man who was exonerated in 2020 after spending 16 years in a Florida prison for a wrongful conviction.

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Today, we learned that 53-year-old Leonard Cure was just getting back on his feet after nearly two decades in prison.

Action News Jax Law and Safety Expert Dale Carson, with more than decades of law enforcement experience, says there are times when police can use deadly force.

“The shooting can only take place if the officer is an imminent, meaning immediate fear of death or great bodily harm from the individual who he’s trying to put in custody,” Carson said.

Carson says whether the incident rose to the level of using deadly force is the main question investigators will be asking.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigations is leading it. GBI says around 7:30 a.m. yesterday, a Camden County deputy shot and killed Leonard Cure during a traffic stop on I-95 near mile marker 9 in Camden County.

CCSO told Action News Jax that Cure was reportedly pulled over for speeding and reckless driving.

Civil rights attorney Harry Daniels has been involved in a handful of cases involving the Camden County Sheriff’s Office.

“So it gives you the question as to whether a shooting by Camden County Deputy officer was credible,” Daniels said. “Was it a lawful, justified shooting?”

GBI said Cure complied at first until he learned he was getting arrested.

“You can understand why he might be concerned if someone were to tell him, he was going to be under arrest yet again,” Carson said.

After not complying, the deputy tased Cure twice and used a baton. That’s when GBI says Cure assaulted the deputy. And after still not complying, the deputy used a gun to shoot Cure.

This is after Cure just discovered his freedom. Innocence Project of Florida executive director Seth Miller helped exonerate Cure in 2020.

He was convicted of an armed robbery that occurred at Walgreens in Fort Lauderdale back in 2003. And Cure was sentenced to life in prison in Broward County.

After 16 years in prison, Miller found evidence that cleared his case.

“There was an ATM receipt for an ATM that he got money out of miles away from the crime scene, that was timestamped at the same time as the crime,” Miller said.

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So, the state attorney’s office cleared him as innocent. Miller says after three years, Cure finally received his compensation of $817,000 from the state in August.

Just last week, Cure bought his first home in Georgia. He was returning home after visiting his mom in South Florida when his life was cut short

“You can imagine a mother who lost her child for 16 years to wrongful conviction and incarceration finally gets her child home,” Miller said. “And he finally gets compensated and is finally getting back on his feet. And then in a moment, his life is taken at a traffic stop.”

Miller says Cure had his whole life ahead of him. Cure was inspiring others and sharing his story of freedom at speaking engagements throughout the community.

And so he was doing things that were positive and productive for the community,” Miller said. “And all that’s been wiped away by what happened yesterday.”

Action News Jax has requested the body camera footage of this incident, but the Camden County Sheriff’s Office is not releasing it at this time, saying it is part of GBI’s investigation.

CCSO adds the deputy involved in this incident is on administrative leave.

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