Robert and Lee Firkins were convicted of the murders of Carol and Graham Fisher, who were killed in what seemed to be a burglary gone wrong. A significant piece of evidence against them came from a witness who claimed he overheard a confession from Robert Firkins while sharing a cell with him. Their conviction was overturned when new expert evidence suggested that this witness was a compulsive liar.
Robert and Lee Firkins were convicted of the murders of Carol and Graham Fisher, who were killed in what seemed to be a burglary gone wrong. A significant piece of evidence against them came from a witness who claimed he overheard a confession from Robert Firkins while sharing a cell with him. Their conviction was overturned when new expert evidence suggested that this witness was a compulsive liar.
<div class="ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1" data-block="text">
<div class="ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0">
<div data-testid="rich-text">
<div class="ssrcss-nqezkk-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1">
Errol Campbell was convicted of theft and conspiracy to steal based on evidence given by Det Sgt Derek Ridgewell, a British Transport Police officer, who has now been shown to have fabricated evidence. It has now been shown that Ridgewell falsely accused mostly young black men of theft and robbery offences. Mr Campbell's conviction was quashed more than ten years after his death.
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class="p1">Ronald DeSouza was convicted of attempted robbery, alongside. It has now been shown that a police officer who worked on his case was corrupt and falsely accused mostly young black men of theft and robbery offences.</p>
William Quarm was a sub-postmaster accused of embezzlement of £27,000 on the basis of evidence from the Horizon computer system. He was considered to have confessed to using funds from the post office to prop up his business both in correspondence with the post office and when interviewed by post office investigators. He initially pled not guilty. However, in a forensic accounting report that he instructed, an expert opined that the Horizon system was "watertight." He changed his plea to guilty, apparently saying that this was "simply to get the matter resolved." He is reported to have been haunted by feelings of shame as a result of the accusations against him and to have thought about taking his own life. His conviction was overturned, more than ten years after his death, when it became clear that evidence undermining Horizon had been suppressed and that bugs, errors, and defects in Horizon could, and did, cause discrepancies and shortfalls in branch accounts.
Susan Sinclair was a sub-postmaster convicted after trial of embezzelement of £10,749.58 on the basis of evidence from the Horizon computer system. She denied embezzling the funds and could not explain the losses. She had contacted the Horizon helpdesk for help. She confessed to overstating the cash in hand to make her accounts balance (something some sub-postmasters had been advised to do), but maintained her innocence throughout trial.
<p class="p1">Her conviction was overturned when it became clear that evidence undermining Horizon had been suppressed and that bugs, errors, and defects in Horizon could, and did, cause discrepancies and shortfalls in branch accounts.</p>
<p class="p1">Colin Stewart Smith was a sub-postmaster accused of embezzlement of £12,680.88 on the basis of evidence from the Horizon computer system. He started having issues with his accounts in 2008 and had contacted the Horizon helpdesk. His concerns were dismissed by the helpdesk, and to resolve discrepancies he made adjustments to show that the shortfall flagged by Horizon was made up by check. He initially plead not guilty, but changed his plea to guilty. He reportedly made admissions that he was taking money from the branch to keep the business afloat. However, the SCCRC said that it did not consider that these admissions could be regarded as being given freely and consistently, and that they arose from the seemingly indisputable evidence that he was faced with.</p>
<p class="p1">His conviction was overturned when it became clear that evidence undermining Horizon had been suppressed and that bugs, errors, and defects in Horizon could, and did, cause discrepancies and shortfalls in branch accounts.</p>
Judith Smith was a sub-postmaster who pled guilty to false accounting (uttering false accounts) in excess of £3,000. She said that she had inflated cash on hand figures to make accounts balance after the Horizon helpdesk was unable to provide assistance in relation to apparent shortfalls.
<p class="p1">Her conviction was overturned when it became clear that evidence undermining Horizon had been suppressed and that bugs, errors, and defects in Horizon could, and did, cause discrepancies and shortfalls in branch accounts.</p>
Robert Thomson was a sub-postmaster who pleaded guilty to embezzelement of £5,000, on the basis of evidence from the Horizon computer system. He accepted altering figures in order to balance his accounts, and blamed the computer system. In an interview, he seemed to admit paying debts out of his post office accounts. He initially pleaded not guilty, but then pled guilty to a reduced sum.
<p class="p1">His conviction was overturned when it became clear that evidence undermining Horizon had been suppressed and that bugs, errors, and defects in Horizon could, and did, cause discrepancies and shortfalls in branch accounts.</p>