4 years ago almost to the day, the news came on TV announcing this: Simon Hall has been remanded in custody for the murder of Mrs X.

I first met Simon in September 2001 at work and we became close friends, we had regular contact until March 2002 when the company we worked for was shut down.  

We decided to go our separate ways with no hard feelings between us but as we lived in different towns, we didnt really speak a lot.

So, on my 29th birthday, as I was getting ready to go out to celebrate with my friends this news came on the television, my heart sank and this was the day that changed my life forever.

Initially it took me a few days to come to terms with what I had heard and I needed to decide on what to do next, back then the decision seemed so hard, but I wasnt prepared for what was to come.

I got in touch with Simon and his family who welcomed the support and spent the next few months writing to him, getting close to his family and familiarising myself with the case.

What do you do when your friend goes to jail and there is no evidence against him? 

What do you do when you believe that he is innocent?

By the time we went to court in February 2003, we were confident that as Simon was going to be judged by his peers, like us, they would come to the rational conclusion that this was a mistake and Simon would walk free, Case closed

An old lady- a friend of Simon's mother- had been murdered, but the evidence they found at the scene- footprints, fingerprints, fibres didn't belong to Simon.

Unfortunately, clever people, big words, a desperate prosecution, a very scary judge supposedly a figure of power, authority and trust  

It was like watching a car crash in slow motion; and by the time her Honour finished her summing up; I was just waiting for the dreaded wordGuilty!

Hollywood movie style, a real life drama with no thought spared for the victims in this, for Mrs X and Simon Hall, justice was never served.

I probably spent the next couple of weeks in a daze, shocked and horrified by what had happened, beside, most people around me had read the papers and of course thought that I was barmy, if the courts found him guilty then surely he was.

I suppose that this was the time to walk away, Simon had fantastic support, his family, his friends, what could I do to help?

However, I felt traumatised by what I had witnessed and was overwhelmed with fear of what may happen to Simon.  

I wrote to him daily, letters, cards, parcels, tapes, books, cds, anything to keep him going, show him that people were on his side and that he wasnt forgotten.  

I couldnt let it go and I couldnt walk away, what if this had been my brother or my father?  

I believe that everyone deserves someone on their side and maybe it was my French arrogance (in Simons words) but I decided to stick around.

Im not a quitter, and we are lucky to have the right to speak up in this country, and so I did.

After just over a year of ferocious work with the family, reading our case notes, learning and educating myself, I decided that we had gathered sufficient information and that it was time to do something, not let the system beat us, it was time to fight back.

As upsetting as this had been for me, I wasnt the victim; I had nothing to cry about and nothing to lose, what could make this worse?  Lucky for us Capital Punishment has been abolished.

After a particularly painful visit to Simon, I returned home in complete despair, he was in an appalling way and I was sick to my stomach of watching this man, once confident, kind and funny, lose faith and lose himself whilst being made to suffer by the prison system enforcing its cruel ways upon him. 

He has so far received absolutely no support whatsoever from each prison he has been in, on the contrary, they have done everything in their power to try and break this man as well as us.

I dread every phone call from Simon as I know that he will once more be announcing trivia issues happening to him inside the prison, just because they want to make life that little bit more difficult for him, I am so sick and tired of writing to the governor who never replies to ask him to meet with me and help me see Simon through this, but they are simply not willing to cooperate.  

To them, Simon is a number and the idea that prison is there to help reinsert people into society is a lie, well never really know what really happened to him inside but you can read stories on other victims who have got through this, not a pretty picture.

Putting Simons story back to the public vote appeared to be the best option, beside, who knows who we were going to attract 

So I asked my Brother to build me a website and teach me how to use it, initially this was for us to put our story out and enable people to leave messages for him, words of comfort.

Ever since Simon was convicted, I spent everyday (and still do) working on this, lunch breaks, weekends, holidays, and evenings, anytime I have a spare moment.

I started by sending Simons website to as many people as I could hoping that one day someone would notice me. And they did, and after a few months, I had contact with a guy from Private Eye who became my first ally.

After his first piece in the magazine, our campaign gained credibility.

I made contact with organisations for miscarriages of justice who eventually started to support us, a great forensic expert who offered to help us for free, we found a new legal team (probably the best available in the country) and after a national campaign to MPs last summer, Simons MP and mine decided to join the campaign.

After a few battles with certain local journalists, I eventually managed to make them realise that although they could not have an opinion, they needed to cooperate and give Simon a fair chance, afterall, how could they ever redeem themselves from the bad press they initially gave him once Simon is proved innocent?

About a month ago, I attended a meeting in London for people in our situation as I heard that a special QC was going to be there and after the meeting, I followed him out and presented our case to him.  He confirmed via our Lawyer around a week ago that he would indeed be acting for Simon once we get an appeal.

Determination, hard work and will power has got me here, yes its not fair, no Im not going to wallow over it, Im standing up and speaking up and I will do everything in my power to put this right.

Today, I heard that on my birthday in a few days and almost 3 years after his trial, Simon will receive his tariff; thats how many years the judge thinks that Simon should stay inside without a chance for parole she took her time as its obviously not her life

As upset as this made me when I heard, I have faith in my heart that once all our work is complete and we get granted our appeal, Simon Hall will be released from prison an Innocent Man, and life can start again for us all.

Until then, I will sit at my computer, as often as I can and focus on gaining more and more support for the shortcoming exposure of this travesty of justice and I will keep learning to further our horizon in our battle against the system.

We need your support; its time to get Simon out!

My fight is dedicated to Simon Hall and all the other victims of miscarriages of justice, keep your head up and be proud of what you are; Innocent People, you have my support. 

Steffie