Former Surrey subpostmaster demands justice - after being wrongly convicted while pregnant
Seema Misra was sentenced to 15 months in prison for theft - a crime she did not commit
A former Surrey subpostmaster is speaking out and demanding justice is served by the government for victims of the Post Office Scandal.
Seema Misra, who lives in Woking, was wrongly convicted of theft when she worked at the Post Office and was sentenced to 15 months behind bars.
The mother found out she was pregnant shortly before being sent to prison.
Misra gave birth in hospital wearing an electronic tag after she was released early for good behaviour.
It took 11 years to prove her innocence, before she was cleared in 2021.
Seema Misra tells us about her experience of the miscarriage of justice:
"When I was fighting back in 2008- 2010 I had faith in the system.
"I thought - why would someone send me away for a crime I never committed?
"I thought to myself - it will be fine. But they day I was sentenced I lost my faith in the system.
"I came to the realisation, If I can be sent down for a crime I never committed, anything is possible in this country.
"I'd be wanting a second child for nearly 8 years and the news came while the trial was going on.
"Finding out that in this condition I had to go to prison was heart-breaking - I thought I was never going to come out alive.
"If I hadn't have been pregnant I would have killed myself in prison because I brought shame to my family going to prison.
"It was heart-breaking but as I was pregnant I didn't do it, I could kill myself but couldn't take somebody else's life, so that kept me going.
"My eldest son also kept my husband going, otherwise he would have killed himself as well."
Seema tells us what she'd like to see now from the government:
"I would definitely want Royal Mail, the Post Office, Houses of Parliament, government officials - whoever was involved, whoever knew and signed off this Horizon which they knew had a fault in it, each and every person, they need to go behind bars.
"All of their properties need to be confiscated like they confiscated my property and that money needs to be distributed to the innocent people who were fighting."
The Prime Minister has said that going forward- he will introduce a law which would exonerate postmasters falsely accused of theft and give them compensation.