🔗 Share this article The exonerated man on navigating a 'changed reality' The wrongly convicted man wept when the court stated it was throwing out his sentence For someone who's lost approximately 40 years of his life due to a crime he was innocent of, Peter Sullivan projects a remarkably positive tone. In our conversation last month, for what was his debriefing session since being released from prison in May, he was enthusiastic and excited about 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 only knew about because someone turned to him in a pub at the time and said, "allegedly there's been a murder". When he was found guilty the following year at Liverpool Crown Court - he was condemned to a extended term in some of Britain's most secure category A prisons where he would be tormented by his tabloid nicknames "The Beast of Birkenhead", "River Mersey Murderer" and "Nocturnal Predator". Adapting to a Transformed World Ahead of our conversation, he was rich with anecdotes about how since his exoneration 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 divided by the Iron Curtain. He described watching the demolition 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 work out how self-checkouts function to realising that "rather than having a cheque book, you've got it on your phone". Modern Adjustments His imprisonment means he has been unaware of the way so many elements of everyday life have evolved - almost like someone who has been unconscious since the 1980s. "Having endured 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 smartphone, after discovering doctor's appointments need to be scheduled on something he now knows is called an 'app'. He first became familiar with them when he was riding on a bus shortly after his liberation and saw people twiddling with smartphones. He only recognized they were phones when he saw someone put one to their ear. Mental Impact Mr Sullivan's 14,000 days in confinement have also led to an unavoidable sense of system dependency. Phil McCann spoke to Peter Sullivan confidentially in an interview last month He remembered 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 confine him into his cell. "You've got to be at your door at a certain time, otherwise the officers will yell at you", he said. "I was just sitting there thinking, 'What's happening?'" Seeking Answers But Mr Sullivan's optimism is balanced by a longing for answers about how he ended up being charged with an infamous murder that he had no part in, and a perplexity about why he still has not had an apology. "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 was absent for them", he said. "It's impossible to continue with my life if I can't get an explanation off them." "My only request, 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" Authorities Statement Merseyside Police said "minimal advantage 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 refer some of Mr Sullivan's allegations to the police oversight body, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who will now investigate his claims that officers assaulted him and threatened 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 directly answer the question, but as part of a lengthy statement it said: "The force acknowledges that there has been a grave miscarriage of justice in this case". Moving Forward Mr Sullivan shared about his basic aspiration - an ambition that he said he had given up of being able to realise at some points over his approximately 38 years behind bars. "All I want to do now is proceed with my own life and carry on as I was before, and experience freedom now". Diane Sindall, 21, was engaged to be wed when she was tragically died His future may be made less challenging by government monetary award, paid to victims of miscarriages of justice. This program is limited at £1.3m, a limit which it is thought his resulting award will get very approach. But the system is not guaranteed, and it is time-consuming. Andrew Malkinson, whose conviction for a rape he was innocent of was overturned in 2023, was only given an interim compensation payout earlier this year. Guilty prisoners who admit to their crimes and are released get a accommodation and some help with living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an innocent man, is not entitled to that help. And so he is surviving a basic lifestyle, with his humble goals - although many think he is a millionaire in waiting. His attorney, Sarah Myatt, said "no sum that you could say that would be enough for forfeiting 38 years of your life".