Police in Georgia have shot and killed a person who spent 16 years in jail on a wrongful conviction.
Leonard Allen Cure, 53, died on Monday after a police deputy pulled him over as he drove alongside Interstate 95 close to the Georgia-Florida line, authorities stated.
Mr Cure was beforehand sentenced to life in jail in 2003 for the armed theft of a drug retailer in Florida. He had prior convictions for theft and different crimes.
He was launched in April 2020 after a choose dominated that Mr Cure had strong alibis that had been beforehand disregarded, and there was no bodily proof or robust witness testimony to place him on the scene.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) stated Mr Cure was killed at round 7.30am on Monday after he obtained out of his automobile on the deputy’s request and complied with the officer’s instructions, till studying that he was below arrest.
The deputy tasered Mr Cure, who then assaulted the deputy, the GBI added, earlier than the officer used the Taser once more, together with a baton.
The deputy then pulled out his gun and shot Mr Cure as he “still did not comply”, the GBI stated.
Emergency companies handled Mr Cure, however he later died.
The bureau didn’t say what prompted the deputy to tug over Mr Cure’s automobile.
A non-profit group, The Innocence Project of Florida, represented Mr Cure in his exoneration case.
Its govt director, Seth Miller, stated after talking to the Cure household: “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.”
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Earlier this yr Mr Cure, who lived in a suburb of Atlanta, was given $817,000 in compensation for his wrongful conviction.
Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor, who described the 53-year-old as “smart, funny and kind”, stated on the time: “No amount of money will get those years back for Mr Cure or give him peace but it is a small gesture that recognises Mr Cure was wronged and that we, in the State of Florida and in the justice system, will help him and compensate him.
“After he was freed and exonerated by our workplace, he visited prosecutors at our workplace and took part in coaching to assist our workers do their jobs within the fairest and most thorough approach doable.”
Broward assistant state legal professional Arielle Demby Berger added: “I’ve gotten to know Mr Cure, ‘Lenny’, these past years and he has encouraged our work as well as helped us train future generations of prosecutors.
“Lenny has shared with me that his dream was in the future to work in a cubicle as an alternative of doing handbook labour. Now, Lenny can go to school and surpass his desires.”
The GBI says it’s conducting an impartial investigation into the capturing.
Source: information.sky.com”