ALERT: Texas scheduled Robert Roberson's execution for Oct. 16 — sign petition now
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BACKGROUND: The tragic story of sub-postmistress Patricia Owen whose family has been fighting to clear her name from the callous postal service which treated her like a criminal, and destroyed her in the process. The story is told by BBC News reporter Daniel Sexton: (Published by the BBC on March 1, 2025.) Link below: "The daughters of a former Kent sub-postmistress whose "world came to an end" when she was convicted of theft from her branch in the 1990s are fighting to clear her name. In 1998, Patricia Owen was convicted of theft from the Broad Oak Post Office branch in Sweechgate, Canterbury, over a shortfall of £6,000. Ms Owen used the Capture system, a precursor to Horizon which was used in branches from 1992 to 1999. A Post Office spokesperson said: "We have been very concerned about the reported problems relating to the use of the Capture software and are sincerely sorry for past failings that have caused suffering to postmasters." Ms Owen denied the charges against her but was found guilty of five counts of theft and received a six month prison sentence, suspended for two years. She died in 2003 before details of the Post Office scandal came to light.] For her name to be cleared, Ms Owen's family say they need to apply to the Criminal Cases Review Commission(CCRC), and their case may then be referred to the Court of Appeal. Ms Owen's daughter, Juliet Shardlow, 56, says it was a sentence which her mother never recovered from. She said: "The Post Office suspended my mum and brought somebody else in to run the post office, and they said they'd not prosecute her if she sold the shop, but as mum had done nothing wrong, my dad said 'no' and so they prosecuted her. "It destroyed my mum," Ms Shardlow said. "Her world came to end when she lost her Post Office and was prosecuted. It was awful." The Post Office spokesperson said: "We are determined that past wrongs are put right and are continuing to support the government's work and fully co-operating with the Criminal Cases Review Commission as it investigates several cases which may be Capture related."
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9844dpgm7yo
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STORY: "Sub-postmistress conviction referred to appeal court," by Reporter Christian Fuller (BBC NEWS South East) published by The BBC, on July 19, 2025.
PHOTO CAPTION: "Patricia Owen (right) died in 2003 before details of the Post Office scandal came to light."
GIST: "The first criminal conviction linked to the Post Office Capture system has been referred to the Court of Appeal.
The case of Patricia Owen, who was found guilty of five counts of theft in June 1998, has been referred on the grounds that it was an abuse of process, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) said.
Ms Owen was convicted of theft from the Broad Oak Post Office branch in Sweechgate, near Canterbury, over a shortfall of £6,000.
The former sub-postmistress used the Capture system, a precursor to the Horizon software, which has been responsible for almost 1,000 wrongful convictions.
She received a sentence of six months' imprisonment, suspended for two years.
The case is to be sent to the Court of Appeal posthumously following an application by Ms Owen's family after her death in 2003."
'Landmark moment'
The CCRC said in March that it was examining 27 cases to determine whether the Capture accounting software played a part in convictions.
An independent report into Capture was commissioned last year after subpostmasters said they had suffered similar problems to those faced by the Horizon victims.
The CCRC said it has sent more than 70 cases associated with the Post Office Horizon scandal to the appeal courts.
Solicitor Neil Hudgell said the referral was a "hugely positive step". "This is another landmark moment in the continuing campaign to ensure all those who were wrongly prosecuted at the hands of the Post Office have their names cleared," he said. "Those who were affected by Capture have suffered the longest of all."
In a statement, the Department for Business and Trade said: "We recognise that postmasters have endured immeasurable suffering, and we are working closely with those affected by Capture software to create a new redress scheme.
"Ensuring postmasters are treated with dignity and respect is our absolute priority, and we will continue to listen to those who have been sharing their stories and work with the CCRC to support them with their review of the Capture system."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2leqrqvj1yo
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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