🔗 Share this article The exonerated man on experiencing a 'transformed reality' Peter Sullivan wept when the court announced it was throwing out his guilty verdict For someone who's lost almost 40 years of his life because of a crime he was innocent of, Peter Sullivan maintains a unusually optimistic outlook. When I met him last month, for what was his initial media appearance since being freed from prison in May, he was enthusiastic and looking forward to getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the opening match since he was detained in 1986. That was the year of the violent killing of Diane Sindall in his local community of Birkenhead - an incident he said he was merely aware of because someone turned to 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 condemned to a lifetime in some of Britain's most secure category A prisons where he would be persecuted by his tabloid nicknames "Birkenhead's Monster", "River Mersey Murderer" and "The Wolfman". Navigating a Modern World Prior to our discussion, he was rich with anecdotes about how since his freedom he has had to adjust to a radically changed world. When he was arrested, Margaret Thatcher was in Downing Street, few knew about the internet and Europe was still partitioned by the Iron Curtain. He described watching the fall of the Berlin Wall from a shared television in prison. Mr Sullivan told me how trips to the shops now show how "everything's changed" - 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". Technological Challenges His confinement means he has been ignorant of the way so many facets of everyday life have changed - similar to someone who has been in hibernation since the 1980s. "Having endured so long in prison and finding out 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, 'Amazing, what's going on here?'" He now has a mobile device, after learning doctor's appointments need to be arranged on something he now knows is called an 'mobile program'. He first became acquainted with them when he was sitting 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. Psychological Effects Mr Sullivan's 14,000 days in custody have also led to an unavoidable sense of institutionalisation. The journalist spoke to Peter Sullivan privately in an interview last month He recalled how after his freedom, one morning in his flat he returned to his bedroom and positioned himself on his bed, because he was subconsciously waiting for a prison officer to come and lock him back into his cell. "You must be at your door at a designated moment, otherwise the officers will discipline you", he said. "I found myself thinking, 'What am I doing?'" Demanding Closure But Mr Sullivan's positivity is balanced by a yearning for answers about how he was charged with an high-profile murder that he had no part in, 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. "It pains me because I couldn't be present for them", he said. "I can't carry on with my life if I can't get an answer off them." "That's all I want, an apology [and to understand] the cause behind they've done this to me", he said. Peter Sullivan was sentenced of beating Diane Sindall to death in a "brutal killing" Police Statement Merseyside Police said "limited value 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 watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who will now examine his claims that officers assaulted him and intimidated to link him to other crimes if he failed to confess 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 recognizes that there has been a significant injustice of justice in this case". Moving Forward Mr Sullivan shared about his simple goal - an ambition that he said he had lost hope of being able to accomplish at some points over his approximately 38 years behind bars. "The sole objective to do now is continue with my own life and progress as I was before, and live my time out now". Diane Sindall, 21, was engaged to be wed when she was killed His future may be made more manageable by government compensation, paid to victims of wrongful convictions. This program is capped at £1.3m, a cap which it is estimated his resulting award will get very approach. But the procedure is not immediate, and it is time-consuming. Andrew Malkinson, whose sentence for a rape he did not commit was overturned in 2023, was only given an temporary payment earlier this year. Convicted criminals who confess to their crimes and are released get a housing and some support regarding living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an innocent man, is not eligible for that help. And so he is surviving a basic lifestyle, with his humble goals - although many consider he is a millionaire in waiting. His legal representative, Sarah Myatt, said "there's not a figure that you could say that would be adequate for losing 38 years of your life".