A Black man who served 16 years in a Florida prison on a wrongful conviction was killed by a sheriff’s deputy in Georgia during a traffic stop, CBS News reports.

Leonard Allen Cure has been identified as the victim of the shooting by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation which is reviewing the shooting.

Seth Miller, executive director of the Innocence Project in Florida who helped Cure get exonerated, said he was “devastated” when he learned about his tragic death.

“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 a statement.

The fatal incident occurred on Monday (October 17) when a Camden County deputy pulled over Cure near the Georgia-Florida line on Interstate 95.

Initially, Cure complied with the officer’s request to get out of the vehicle but became violent when he was told that he was being arrested, according to the GBI.

According to the report, the officer shocked Cure with a stun gun after he refused to listen to his commands and he struck the deputy. After using the stun gun again and a baton in an attempt to apprehend him, he shot Cure when he continued resisting arrest.

The GBI did not disclose why the officer pulled Cure over.

Miller noted that Cure, like many exonerated returning citizens, struggled with encounters with law enforcement for fear of being arrested and imprisoned again.

"Even when they're free, they always struggled with the concern, the fear that they'll be convicted and incarcerated again for something they didn't do," Miller said.

Before his death, Cure had a history of run-ins with the law. In 2003, he was convicted of the armed robbery of a drug store in Florida. After his trial was deadlocked, he was convicted in a second trial by a jury and sentenced to life in prison because of his prior record of armed robberies.

In 2020, the Broward State Attorney’s Office's new Conviction Review Unit requested that a judge release Cure from prison after they discovered evidence that Cure had “solid alibis” that were previously ignored. Additionally, no solid witness testimonies or physical evidence placed Cure at the scene of the crime.

According to Miller, Cure received $817,000 in compensation for his wrongful conviction and imprisonment.

Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor described Cure as "smart, funny, and kind” at the time of release from prison.

"No amount of money will get those years back for Mr. Cure or give him peace 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,” Pryor said.

"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 added.