The Legal Circumstances Assessment Fee (CCRC) has determined to refer the case of sub-postmistress Patricia Owen, who was convicted in 1998 of theft.
Mrs Owen was discovered responsible by a jury primarily based on proof from the defective IT software program Seize, which was utilized in 2,500 branches between 1992 and 1999, earlier than the Horizon Submit Workplace scandal.
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Pat Owen, pictured right here together with her husband David, at all times maintained her innocence however died in 2003 with a prison report
The choice to refer the first-ever Seize case to the Courtroom of Enchantment has been made on the grounds that Mrs Owen’s prosecution was an “abuse of process”.
The event has been described by victims’ lawyer Neil Hudgell as “hugely pivotal”.
“The Court of Appeal don’t receive that many referrals that start at the CCRC, and most get turned away, so it’s a very high bar to even get cases from the CCRC to the Court of Appeal…”
“I think it will be a real shot in the arm to all the other Capture victims who are waiting for their cases to be determined by the CCRC.”
Mr Hudgell described the report discovered earlier this 12 months – written by laptop specialists in 1998 and extremely crucial of Seize – as “significantly tipping the balance”.
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Lawyer Neil Hudgell says growth is ‘massively pivotal’
Pat Owen at all times maintained her innocence however died in 2003 with a prison report earlier than the broader Submit Workplace scandal got here to gentle.
“I feel angry that she is not here because she died before her time… we will be there – we will be sitting there in that front row.
“I am unable to put it into phrases as a result of it is nonetheless all a shock that we’re the place we’re and that later this 12 months, or subsequent 12 months, we’d have what we got down to get… justice for her.”
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Juliet Shardlow is in search of justice for her mom
The CCRC is at present investigating 30 instances doubtlessly associated to the Seize software program system.
Twenty-seven of these instances are actually assigned to case evaluate managers and underneath “active review”, with an additional three instances within the preparatory levels.
The CCRC has described a “challenge” over figuring out “whether cases involved the use of Capture at the time of the alleged offences”.
It additionally talked about that the Submit Workplace is reviewing “a significant amount of data which may contain further information”.
