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The Court of Appeal is set to reconsider the first criminal conviction related to the Post Office Capture system. Patricia Owen, who was convicted of five counts of theft in 1998, is the subject of this referral. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has stated that the case is being referred on the basis that it was an abuse of process.
Owen, who was the former sub-postmistress at the Broad Oak Post Office branch in Sweechgate, near Canterbury, was found guilty of theft amounting to £6,000. She utilized the Capture system, which preceded the Horizon software that has led to nearly 1,000 wrongful convictions. Despite being handed a six-month suspended prison sentence, her case is now posthumously being sent to the Court of Appeal following an application by her family after her passing in 2003.
Described as a “landmark moment” by solicitor Neil Hudgell, the CCRC disclosed in March that they were investigating 27 cases to establish the role of the Capture accounting software in convictions. An independent report on Capture was commissioned after subpostmasters reported facing similar issues as the Horizon victims. More than 70 cases related to the Post Office Horizon scandal have been forwarded to the appeal courts by the CCRC.
The Department for Business and Trade has acknowledged the suffering endured by postmasters and is collaborating with those affected by the Capture software to establish a new redress scheme. Prioritizing the dignified treatment of postmasters, they aim to support the CCRC in their review of the Capture system and listen to the stories shared by those impacted. This referral marks a significant advancement in the pursuit of justice for individuals wrongly prosecuted in connection to the Post Office
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