Post Office worker dad-of-two, 59, took his own life after being wrongly accused of stealing £60,000
A POST Office worker took his own life after being wrongly accused of stealing £60,000 and dipping into his own savings to make up deficit.
Dad-of-two Martin Griffiths, a postmaster for 20 years, killed himself in 2013 at the age of 59.
He worked at a branch in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, when he was accused of taking money.
A defective accounting system had wrongly showed a shortfall of £61,000.
Mr Griffiths delved into his own savings to make up for the deficit, his family said.
The turmoil lasted for four years, between 2009 and 2013, which had a huge impact on his physical and mental health, relatives added.
His sister, Jayne Caveen, said last year that the "bloody faulty computer system killed my brother".
Mr Griffiths is one of several Post Office workers who died with convictions against their names after their lives were "irreparably ruined" when they were prosecuted for stealing money in one of Britain's biggest miscarriages of justice.
Julian Wilson, who ran a post office in Astwood Bank, Worcestershire, died in 2016 before his name was cleared.
His widow Karen Wilson, 66, said: "He had cancer. He died in 2016. He was only 67. His health deteriorated after he was suspended in 2008.
"I think the stress contributed. He may have still got cancer but I think it contributed."
She said her husband was left "broken" by his conviction and struggled to find work after completing community service.
She was forced to work three jobs and sell her engagement ring and other jewellery to make ends meet, reports.
'BROKEN' BY CONVICTION
Thirty nine former subpostmasters accused of theft, fraud and false accounting had their names cleared by the Court of Appeal yesterday.
But the group lost jobs, homes and marriages after being blamed for losses in branch accounts because of a defective system, the court heard.
From 2000 to 2014, 736 subpostmasters were prosecuted based on information from the Post Office's Horizon computer system, which was introduced in 1999.
The Post Office knew its Fujitsu-developed IT system had "faults and bugs from the earliest days of its operation", the Court of Appeal heard last month.
Workers were jailed, and some died before being cleared, as the group demanded a public inquiry into the scandal which "destroyed" people's lives.
Lawyers representing 42 former subpostmasters said evidence of serious defects was "concealed from the courts, prosecutors and defence", in order to protect the Post Office "at all costs".
Boris Johnson welcomed today's court ruling as he spoke out against the "appalling injustice which has had a devastating impact on these families for years".
The PM added: "Lessons should and will be learnt to ensure this never happens again."
Ms Caveen's son Samuel said: "Today’s news is welcome, but a reminder that not everyone in the Post Office scandal was prosecuted; some just had their livelihoods, reputations, life savings and wellbeing stolen from them.
"The fatal effects of that cannot be overturned by a judge."
And Ms Wilson said: "I promised [my husband] I would kept on fighting. And today those judges said he was right.
"I'm not brave but this was such a massive wrong. For 13 years I have lived and breathed it. We almost lost everything."
'FATAL EFFECTS'
The convictions were referred to the court by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) last year following a landmark High Court case against the Post Office.
The Post Office conceded that 39 of the 42 former subpostmasters should have their convictions overturned on the basis that "they did not or could not have a fair trial".
But it opposed 35 of those 39 cases on a second ground of appeal, which is that the prosecutions were "an affront to the public conscience".
At the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Friday, 39 of the former subpostmasters finally had their names cleared.
Harjinder Butoy, who was convicted of theft and jailed for three years and four months in 2008, described the Post Office as "a disgrace" after his conviction was overturned.
Mr Butoy, who was a subpostmaster in Nottingham, said his conviction and imprisonment "destroyed my life for 14 years - that's not going to be replaced".
Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice, he called for those responsible for the scandal to be ";seriously punished".
But despite the anger, many were relieved by the decision.
Lessons should and will be learnt to ensure this never happens again.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson
Tom Hedges, who was convicted of theft and false accounting and given a seven-month suspended sentence in 2011, opened a bottle of prosecco outside the Royal Courts of Justice after his conviction was quashed.
He said: "It's a wonderful afternoon. When I told my mother, who's 93, I was coming to court she said 'get yourself down to Aldi and get some prosecco'."
In a statement, Neil Hudgell from Hudgell Solicitors, who represented 29 of the former subpostmasters, said: "It is almost impossible to describe the true impact that this scandal has had on the lives of this group of people who had their reputations and livelihoods so unfairly destroyed.
"They are honest, hard-working people who served their communities but have had to live with the stigma of being branded criminals for many years, all the while knowing they have been innocent."
He described the scandal as "probably the biggest miscarriage of justice in UK legal history" in terms of the number of people affected and its duration.
And he told BBC Breakfast on Saturday: "The next step is to some extent to cushion the blow, is to seek appropriate compensation.
"Some of these folk haven't worked since and have clearly suffered."
Post Office chairman Tim Parker apologised for the scandal after today's court ruling.
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He said: "The Post Office is extremely sorry for the impact on the lives of these postmasters and their families that was caused by historical failures.
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"Post Office stopped prosecutions soon after its separation from Royal Mail a decade ago and has throughout this appeals process supported the overturning of the vast majority of convictions.
"We are contacting other postmasters and Post Office workers with criminal convictions from past private Post Office prosecutions that may be affected, to assist them to appeal should they wish."