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Considering he who's forfeited approximately 40 years of his life because of a crime he didn't commit, Peter Sullivan projects a remarkably positive attitude.

In our conversation last month, for what was his initial media appearance since being freed from prison in May, he was cheerful and looking forward to getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the initial occasion since he was detained in 1986.

That was the year of the brutal homicide of Diane Sindall in his home town of Birkenhead - an incident he said he was merely aware of because someone spoke 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 destined to a lifetime in some of Britain's most secure category A prisons where he would be tormented by his tabloid nicknames "Birkenhead's Monster", "The Mersey Ripper" and "The Wolfman".

Adjusting to a Digital World

Ahead of our conversation, he was full of stories about how since his exoneration he has had to acclimate to a fundamentally altered world.

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

He recalled watching the fall of the Berlin Wall from a public television in prison.

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

Modern Surprises

His imprisonment means he has been ignorant of the way so many facets of everyday life have transformed - similar to someone who has been unconscious since the 1980s.

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

He now has a mobile device, after finding out doctor's appointments need to be arranged on something he now knows is called an 'mobile program'.

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

Mental Effects

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

He recalled how after his release, one morning in his flat he went back to his bedroom and settled on his bed, because he was subconsciously waiting for a prison officer to come and secure him into his cell.

"You've got to be at your door at a certain time, otherwise the officers will discipline you", he said.

"I found myself thinking, 'Why am I here?'"

Seeking Closure

But Mr Sullivan's hope is mixed with a longing for answers about how he came to be charged with an notorious murder that he was innocent of, and a bewilderment about why he still has not had an expression of regret.

"I've lost everything", he said.

"Freedom disappeared, I lost my mother since I've been in prison, I've lost my father.

"It pains me because I couldn't be present for them", he said.

"I cannot proceed with my life if I can't get an explanation off them."

"The sole thing I need, an apology [and to understand] the explanation for they've done this to me", he said.

Authorities Statement

Merseyside Police said "there would be little benefit 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 oversight body, 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 failed to confess 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 recognizes that there has been a grave miscarriage of justice in this case".

Looking Ahead

Mr Sullivan told me about his basic aspiration - an ambition that he said he had given up of being able to accomplish at some points over his approximately 38 years behind bars.

"The sole objective to do now is proceed with my own life and progress as I was before, and live my time out now".

His prospects may be made less challenging by government compensation, paid to victims of wrongful convictions.

This scheme is limited at £1.3m, a limit which it is estimated his resulting award will get very near.

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

Andrew Malkinson, whose guilty verdict for a rape he did not commit was overturned in 2023, was only granted an provisional award earlier this year.

Guilty prisoners who acknowledge their crimes and are released get a accommodation and some support regarding living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an innocent man, is not qualified for that help.

And so he is existing a basic lifestyle, with his basic aspirations - although many think he is a compensation recipient.

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