BACKGROUND: Wikipedia: "Leonard Cure (November 23, 1969[3] – October 16, 2023) was wrongfully convicted of armed robbery in 2003. On November 10, 2003, an armed robbery took place in Dania Beach, Florida, when a man with a revolver forced his way into a Walgreens store. The suspect fled the store with nearly $2,000 in cash. Descriptions of the suspect provided by two store employees did not match. In 2004, Cure's trial was declared a mistrial after the jury deadlocked. Cure was tried again, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison.[4] The Florida Innocence Project conducted an investigation and found that an ATM receipt proved Cure had been miles away from the store during the time of the robbery. In April 2020, Cure was exonerated and released from prison.[5] Cure received $817,000 in compensation for his imprisonment. He was the first person to be exonerated by the Broward County Conviction Review Unit.[6]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Leonard_Cure
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In another incident, Aldridge unreasonably used a Taser and kicked a victim during an arrest in 2021 and made a false entry report "with the intent to impede, obstruct, and influence the investigation and proper administration of that matter." Aldridge also lied about giving any verbal commands before deploying his taser on the arrestee, the DOJ said in its indictment. Another victim was tased in the back of the neck while handcuffed. Aldridge falsely stated in a report that the victim "began running away."
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STORY: "Georgia deputy who killed exonerated man faces federal indictment, " by Reporter Megan Buttler, published by The Courthouse News Service, on August 7, 2025.
SUB-HEADING: A Georgia deputy was indicted over using excessive force and falsifying reports, including in the fatal shooting of Leonard Cure, a Black man exonerated after 16 years in prison for a robbery he did not commit.
GIST: "A southern Georgia sheriff's deputy, who fatally shot an exonerated Black man during a traffic stop, was indicted Thursday for federal civil rights violations and falsifying records.
Camden County Sergeant Buck William Aldridge of St. Marys, Georgia, used excessive force on arrestees on four separate occasions, the U.S. Department of Justice said in its indictment. In addition, the 42-year-old deputy prepared multiple misleading reports to justify his use of force.
Aldridge drew national attention on Oct. 16, 2023, after he opened fire on Leonard Cure, a 53-year-old Black man who was recently released after spending more than 16 years in prison for a robbery he did not commit.
Body camera footage released of the incident shows Aldridge pulling over Cure's truck on the interstate near the Florida border after he said it was clocked at 100 mph. Aldridge proceeds to walk toward the truck, yelling "get out," and points a Taser at Cure while ordering him to put his hands on the back of the vehicle.
Cure does as he is told while questioning why he was pulled over and why the deputy is arresting and threatening him.
Still pointing the Taser at him, Aldridge tells Cure he is under arrest for speeding and reckless driving.
"So, that's a speeding ticket, right?" Cure asks.
"You are going to jail," Aldridge yells at Cure before deploying his Taser at him.
Cure attempts to remove the Taser darts, and the two become entangled in a brief struggle where he attempts to put Aldridge in a headlock. Then, his body falls to the ground.
"Shots fired," Aldridge is heard saying on his radio while calling for backup. He waits until a medic arrives on the scene before attempting life-saving measures on Cure.
The 13-count indictment accuses Aldridge of tasing and punching an arrestee in the face without justification during an arrest and then documenting a false account of the interaction to cover up the unlawful force.
In another incident, Aldridge unreasonably used a Taser and kicked a victim during an arrest in 2021 and made a false entry report "with the intent to impede, obstruct, and influence the investigation and proper administration of that matter." Aldridge also lied about giving any verbal commands before deploying his taser on the arrestee, the DOJ said in its indictment.
Another victim was tased in the back of the neck while handcuffed. Aldridge falsely stated in a report that the victim "began running away."
Aldridge faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each federal civil rights violation and 20 years in prison for each false report, the DOJ said.
“Law enforcement officers are entrusted with the authority to uphold the law — not to break it. When that trust is violated, the FBI will act. No badge puts anyone above the Constitution,” FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown said in a statement. “We remain committed to investigating civil rights violations and holding accountable those who abuse their power.”
Following the death of Cure, Aldridge was placed on administrative leave but was “relieved of his duties” on Thursday, according to the sheriff’s office.
Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Keith Higgins had determined the use of deadly force was objectively reasonable “given that he was being overpowered at that time.”
Cure's family, represented by nationally renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump, filed a lawsuit against Camden County and its sheriff, Jim Proctor, seeking at least $17 million in damages for excessive force.
Aldridge had previously been fired from a different Georgia law enforcement agency in 2017 after violating its use-of-force policy, the family said in its lawsuit. Cure's family asserts that Sheriff Proctor has demonstrated a pattern of failure to terminate and discipline multiple officers, including Aldridge, with histories of excessive force within the county sheriff’s office."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/what-can-happen-when-dna-evidence-mishandled
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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