The exonerated man on experiencing a 'different world'

Considering he who's forfeited nearly 40 years of his life as a result of a crime he was innocent of, Peter Sullivan projects a surprisingly hopeful outlook.

During our encounter last month, for what was his initial media appearance since being liberated from prison in May, he was cheerful and eagerly anticipating getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the initial occasion 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 had limited information regarding because someone turned to him in a pub at the time and said, "allegedly there's been a murder".

When he was sentenced the following year at Liverpool Crown Court - he was sentenced to a lifetime in some of Britain's highest-security category A prisons where he would be hounded by his tabloid nicknames "The Wirral Predator", "Merseyside Killer" and "Lunar Killer".

Adapting to a Modern World

Ahead of our conversation, he was full of stories about how since his release he has had to adjust to a completely different world.

When he was arrested, Margaret Thatcher was in Downing Street, the concept of the internet and Europe was still partitioned by the Iron Curtain.

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

Mr Sullivan described how trips to the shops now show how "the world has transformed" - from trying to figure out how self-checkouts function to realising that "instead of having a cheque book, you've got it on your phone".

Technological Challenges

His confinement means he has been unaware of the way so many elements of everyday life have transformed - similar to someone who has been asleep since the 1980s.

"After spending 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, 'Wow, what's going on here?'"

He now has a digital phone, after discovering doctor's appointments need to be booked on something he now knows is called an 'application'.

He first became familiar with them when he was traveling on a bus shortly after his release and saw people using smartphones. He only recognized they were phones when he saw someone put one to their ear.

Mental Consequences

Mr Sullivan's 14,000 days in custody have also led to an predictable sense of system dependency.

He described how after his liberation, one morning in his flat he returned to his bedroom and positioned himself on his bed, because he was automatically waiting for a prison officer to come and secure him into his cell.

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

"I found myself thinking, 'What am I doing?'"

Seeking Closure

But Mr Sullivan's positivity is balanced by a longing for answers about how he ended up being charged with an notorious murder that he was innocent of, and a confusion about why he still has not had an apology.

"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 couldn't be present for them", he said.

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

"That's all I want, an apology [and to understand] the cause behind they've done this to me", he said.

Law Enforcement Response

Merseyside Police said "minimal advantage to be gained for a re-examination of this matter today" because of "developments 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 watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who will now look at his claims that officers physically abused him and threatened to link him to other crimes if he didn't plead guilty to Diane Sindall's murder.

When asked if it would apologise, the force did not clearly address the question, but as part of a comprehensive declaration it said: "The force regrets that there has been a significant injustice of justice in this case".

Looking Ahead

Mr Sullivan told me about his modest ambition - an ambition that he said he had lost hope of being able to realise at some points over his nearly four decades behind bars.

"The sole objective to do now is get on 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 financial payment, paid to individuals affected of wrongful convictions.

This system is restricted at £1.3m, a cap which it is thought his eventual payout will get very approach.

But the process is not automatic, and it is lengthy.

Andrew Malkinson, whose conviction for a rape he did not commit was dismissed in 2023, was only granted an interim compensation payout earlier this year.

Guilty prisoners who acknowledge their crimes and are released get a place to live and some assistance for living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an wrongly convicted individual, is not entitled to that help.

And so he is living a basic lifestyle, with his humble goals - although many believe he is a future wealthy man.

His lawyer, Sarah Myatt, said "no sum that you could say that would be sufficient for losing 38 years of your life".