The exonerated man on experiencing a 'changed world'

For someone who's sacrificed nearly 40 years of his life because of a crime he had no involvement in, Peter Sullivan projects a remarkably hopeful outlook.

In our conversation last month, for what was his debriefing session since being released from prison in May, he was upbeat and eagerly anticipating getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the first time since he was taken into custody in 1986.

That was the year of the sexual attack murder of Diane Sindall in his home town of Birkenhead - an occurrence he said he only knew about because someone approached him in a pub at the time and said, "allegedly there's been a murder".

When he was convicted the following year at Liverpool Crown Court - he was condemned to a lifetime in some of Britain's toughest category A prisons where he would be persecuted by his tabloid nicknames "The Wirral Predator", "Merseyside Killer" and "Nocturnal Predator".

Navigating a Digital World

Prior to our discussion, he was abundant with tales about how since his exoneration he has had to adapt to a completely different world.

When he was arrested, Margaret Thatcher was in Downing Street, no one had heard of the internet and Europe was still separated by the Iron Curtain.

He described watching the collapse of the Berlin Wall from a public television in prison.

Mr Sullivan explained how trips to the shops now show how "society has evolved" - from trying to understand how self-checkouts function to realising that "in place of having a cheque book, you've got it on your phone".

Digital Adjustments

His confinement means he has been oblivious to the way so many elements of everyday life have evolved - comparable to someone who has been unconscious since the 1980s.

"Having endured so long in prison and learning there's no DHSS [Department of Health and Social Security, now the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)] where you can pick up your money - you're thinking, 'Goodness, what's going on here?'"

He now has a smartphone, after learning doctor's appointments need to be arranged on something he now knows is called an 'app'.

He first became acquainted with them when he was sitting on a bus shortly after his liberation and saw people twiddling with smartphones. He only recognized they were phones when he saw someone put one to their ear.

Mental Impact

Mr Sullivan's 14,000 days in prison have also led to an predictable sense of institutionalisation.

He remembered how after his liberation, one morning in his flat he walked back to his bedroom and settled on his bed, because he was subconsciously waiting for a prison officer to come and confine him into his cell.

"You must be at your door at a certain time, otherwise the officers will go off at you", he said.

"I found myself thinking, 'What's happening?'"

Seeking Closure

But Mr Sullivan's positivity is tempered by a yearning for answers about how he was charged with an infamous murder that he didn't commit, and a perplexity about why he still has not had an admission of error.

"I've lost everything", he said.

"I lost all my freedom, I lost my mother since I've been in prison, I've lost my father.

"The pain is deep because I wasn't there for them", he said.

"It's impossible to continue with my life if I can't get an response off them."

"My only request, an apology [and to understand] the cause behind they've done this to me", he said.

Law Enforcement Statement

Merseyside Police said "there would be little benefit to be gained for a review of this matter today" because of "advancements to investigative techniques and developments in the law over the last 40 years".

The force did submit some of Mr Sullivan's accusations to the police oversight body, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who will now look at his claims that officers physically abused him and warned to link him to other crimes if he didn't plead guilty to Diane Sindall's murder.

When asked if it would express regret, the force did not specifically respond the question, but as part of a detailed response it said: "The force regrets that there has been a grave miscarriage of justice in this case".

Future Prospects

Mr Sullivan explained about his modest ambition - an ambition that he said he had abandoned expectation of being able to accomplish at some points over his almost forty years behind bars.

"All I want to do now is continue with my own life and carry on as I was before, and live my time out now".

His future may be made less challenging by government monetary award, paid to wrongly convicted people of wrongful convictions.

This system is limited at £1.3m, a limit which it is thought his eventual payout will get very near.

But the system is not immediate, and it is protracted.

Andrew Malkinson, whose sentence for a rape he did not commit was quashed in 2023, was only granted an temporary payment earlier this year.

Admitted offenders who acknowledge their crimes and are paroled get a accommodation and some help with living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an wrongly convicted individual, is not qualified for that help.

And so he is existing a simple existence, with his basic aspirations - although many believe he is a compensation recipient.

His attorney, Sarah Myatt, said "no amount that you could say that would be enough for forfeiting 38 years of your life".