The first Post Office Capture conviction has now been formally referred to the Court of Appeal, marking a major milestone in the IT scandal.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) made the decision to refer the case of sub-postmistress Patricia Owen back in July.
Mrs Owen was convicted of theft by a jury in 1998, based on evidence from the faulty IT software Capture.
She was given a suspended prison sentence and fought to clear her name afterwards – but died in 2003.
Capture software was used in 2,500 branches between 1992 and 1999.
It is the first time a conviction based on Capture – the predecessor to the Horizon system at the centre of the wider Post Office scandal – has reached the Court of Appeal.
It comes after Sky News revealed that a damning report into Capture, which could help overturn convictions, had been unearthed after nearly 30 years.
An investigation found the Post Office knew about the report at the time and continued to prosecute sub-postmasters based on Capture evidence.
Mrs Owen’s family submitted an application to the CCRC in January 2024 – her case has now been referred on the grounds that her prosecution was an “abuse of process”.
A ‘touchstone case’ for victims
Lawyers have said that if Mrs Owen is exonerated posthumously in the Court of Appeal, it may “speed up” the handling of others.
The CCRC is also continuing to investigate more than 30 other “pre-Horizon” convictions.
CCRC chair, Dame Vera Baird, also told Sky News in the summer it could be a…
