The exonerated man on living in a 'transformed reality'

Considering he who's sacrificed nearly 40 years of his life due to a crime he was innocent of, Peter Sullivan projects a unusually hopeful attitude.

When I met him last month, for what was his first interview 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 violent killing of Diane Sindall in his home town of Birkenhead - an incident he said he had limited information regarding because someone spoke to 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 destined to a lifetime in some of Britain's most secure category A prisons where he would be persecuted by his tabloid nicknames "The Beast of Birkenhead", "Merseyside Killer" 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 adjust to a radically changed world.

When he was detained, Margaret Thatcher was in Downing Street, no one had heard of the internet and Europe was still divided 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 figure out how self-checkouts work to realising that "instead 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 elements of everyday life have changed - similar to someone who has been unconscious since the 1980s.

"Following 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 smartphone, after discovering 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 sitting on a bus shortly after his release and saw people twiddling with smartphones. He only understood 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 system dependency.

He recalled how after his freedom, one morning in his flat he walked 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've got to be at your door at a designated moment, otherwise the officers will go off at you", he said.

"I was just sitting there thinking, 'What am I doing?'"

Seeking Explanation

But Mr Sullivan's optimism is tempered by a desire for answers about how he was charged with an notorious murder that he had no part in, and a confusion about why he still has not had an admission of error.

"My entire life vanished", he said.

"My liberty was taken, 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.

"I can't carry on with my life if I can't get an response off them."

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

Police Response

Merseyside Police said "there would be little benefit to be gained for a re-examination of this matter today" because of "the changes to investigative techniques and improvements in the law over the last 40 years".

The force did refer some of Mr Sullivan's claims 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 intimidated 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 specifically respond the question, but as part of a comprehensive declaration it said: "The force acknowledges that there has been a grave miscarriage of justice in this case".

Future Prospects

Mr Sullivan shared about his modest ambition - an ambition that he said he had given up of being able to realise at some points over his almost forty years behind bars.

"My only desire to do now is proceed with my own life and carry on as I was before, and enjoy my remaining years now".

His life ahead may be made less challenging by government compensation, paid to victims of miscarriages of justice.

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

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

Andrew Malkinson, whose sentence for a rape he had no involvement in was quashed in 2023, was only granted an temporary payment earlier this year.

Convicted criminals who acknowledge their crimes and are paroled get a place to live and some assistance for living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an exonerated person, is not eligible for that help.

And so he is living a basic lifestyle, with his humble goals - although many consider he is a millionaire in waiting.

His lawyer, Sarah Myatt, said "there's not a figure that you could say that would be adequate for forfeiting 38 years of your life".