The nightmares endured by Peter Holmes and William Quarm were laid bare before the inquiry yesterday.
They are among as many as 60 former sub-postmasters feared to have passed away before receiving justice.
Both were investigated by Robert Daily.
Peter, 68, died from a brain tumour in 2015, six years before his conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2021.
The former police officer told Mr Daily the faulty Horizon IT system could be to blame after £46,000 went missing.
His widow Marion, 81, said it was “surreal” to finally face Mr Daily yesterday and said of her husband: “I wish somebody had just listened to him. I’m determined to keep fighting for others whose lives were ruined.”
William died in 2012 aged 69 before his conviction was quashed at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh in September last year.
The father of five, who ran a post office in the Western Isles, was put under so much pressure by investigators – collapsing in one interview – that he pleaded guilty in 2010 to embezzling money to avoid going to prison.
His widow Anne said the threat of jail had frightened him so much that there were fears he might take his own life.
She said: “The fear in his eyes – I’ll never forget it.”
