Supply: Innocence Mission of Florida / Innocence Mission of Florida

A Black man exonerated after spending 16 years wrongfully convicted in jail in Florida was shot and killed by a deputy in Georgia.

In accordance to reviews, Leonard Treatment was pulled over by a Camden County deputy within the state of Georgia on Monday (Oct. 16). The site visitors cease befell on Interstate 95 on the Florida-Georgia state line. When requested by the deputy to step out of his car, Treatment was compliant however turned offended when informed he can be arrested. The deputy fired his taser after allegedly being assaulted by Treatment. 

That compelled the deputy to fireside his taser once more then use his baton, based on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The deputy would then hearth his gun, capturing Treatment as he continued to withstand. GBI spokesperson Stacy Carson stated that the unidentified deputy is white. The GBI has additionally begun investigating the incident as is customary within the state and confirmed that it will ahead all knowledge to the Brunswick Judicial Circuit that governs Camden County in addition to the district lawyer.

Treatment, 53, had beforehand been wrongfully convicted for an armed theft in Dania Seaside, Florida, in 2003. He had been sentenced to life in jail because of earlier felony convictions. In 2020, the Conviction Evaluate Unit of the Broward State Legal professional requested a choose to set Treatment free. The unit discovered “troubling” data detailing Treatment’s stable alibis being ignored in addition to no bodily proof tying him to the crime being current.

After an unbiased overview board of 5 legal professionals agreed with the unit’s report, Treatment was launched in April 2020 after getting his sentence modified. In December 2020, his conviction was vacated. “I’m wanting ahead to placing this case behind me and shifting on with my life,” he informed the South Florida Solar Sentinel afterward. In June 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a invoice granting Treatment $817,000 in monetary compensation together with schooling credit. Treatment had reportedly obtained the restitution in August.

Treatment had been driving residence to an Atlanta suburb after visiting his in poor health mom when detained, in accordance to Innocence Mission Florida govt president Seth Miller. Miller was one of many legal professionals who labored to get Treatment freed. “Lenny was a very good soul, cared about individuals,” he stated to reporters. “He was getting his life again collectively.”