🔗 Share this article The exonerated man on navigating a 'different world' The wrongly convicted man broke down when the court announced it was quashing his guilty verdict Considering he who's forfeited almost 40 years of his life as a result of a crime he had no involvement in, Peter Sullivan maintains a remarkably positive attitude. During our encounter last month, for what was his first interview since being freed from prison in May, he was enthusiastic and eagerly anticipating getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the first time since he was detained in 1986. That was the year of the brutal homicide of Diane Sindall in his local community of Birkenhead - an event he said he only knew about because someone approached him in a pub at the time and said, "apparently there's been a murder". When he was convicted the following year at Liverpool Crown Court - he was sentenced to a indefinite period in some of Britain's highest-security category A prisons where he would be tormented by his tabloid nicknames "The Wirral Predator", "The Mersey Ripper" and "Nocturnal Predator". Navigating a Modern World Before our interview, he was rich with anecdotes about how since his exoneration he has had to acclimate to a radically changed world. When he was taken into custody, 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 told me how trips to the shops now show how "society has evolved" - 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". Digital Surprises His confinement means he has been oblivious to the way so many aspects of everyday life have transformed - almost like someone who has been in hibernation 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 digital phone, after discovering doctor's appointments need to be booked on something he now knows is called an 'app'. He first became familiar with them when he was sitting on a bus shortly after his freedom and saw people operating smartphones. He only realised they were phones when he saw someone put one to their ear. Emotional Consequences Mr Sullivan's 14,000 days in confinement have also led to an predictable sense of prison conditioning. Phil McCann spoke to Peter Sullivan privately in an interview last month He described how after his release, one morning in his flat he went back to his bedroom and positioned himself on his bed, because he was unconsciously waiting for a prison officer to come and secure him into his cell. "You must be at your door at a certain time, otherwise the officers will yell at you", he said. "I remained thinking, 'Why am I here?'" Demanding Answers But Mr Sullivan's positivity is balanced by a longing for answers about how he ended up being charged with an high-profile murder that he didn't commit, and a confusion about why he still has not had an apology. "I've lost everything", he said. "Freedom disappeared, 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. "I can't carry on with my life if I can't get an answer off them." "My only request, an apology [and to understand] the cause behind they've done this to me", he said. Peter Sullivan was convicted of beating Diane Sindall to death in a "brutal killing" Authorities Position Merseyside Police said "there would be little benefit to be gained for a re-examination of this matter today" because of "advancements to investigative techniques and progress in the law over the last 40 years". The force did forward some of Mr Sullivan's accusations to the police oversight body, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who will now examine his claims that officers physically abused him and intimidated 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 clearly address the question, but as part of a detailed response it said: "The force acknowledges that there has been a serious failure of justice in this case". Future Prospects Mr Sullivan shared about his basic aspiration - an ambition that he said he had lost hope of being able to achieve at some points over his nearly four decades behind bars. "All I want to do now is proceed with my own life and move forward as I was before, and experience freedom now". Diane Sindall, 21, was due to be married when she was killed His prospects may be made easier by government financial payment, paid to wrongly convicted people of judicial errors. This program is limited at £1.3m, a limit which it is thought his resulting award will get very near. But the procedure is not immediate, and it is protracted. Andrew Malkinson, whose sentence for a rape he had no involvement in was quashed in 2023, was only awarded an interim compensation payout earlier this year. Admitted offenders who acknowledge their crimes and are paroled get a housing 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 basic lifestyle, with his humble goals - although many believe he is a millionaire in waiting. His legal representative, Sarah Myatt, said "no amount that you could say that would be sufficient for sacrificing 38 years of your life".