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Considering he who's forfeited almost 40 years of his life as a result of a crime he had no involvement in, Peter Sullivan projects a remarkably optimistic outlook.

During our encounter last month, for what was his first interview since being released from prison in May, he was cheerful and eagerly anticipating getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the opening match since he was arrested in 1986.

That was the year of the brutal homicide of Diane Sindall in his home town of Birkenhead - an event he said he had limited information regarding because someone approached him in a pub at the time and said, "apparently there's been a murder".

When he was sentenced the following year at Liverpool Crown Court - he was destined to a extended term in some of Britain's most secure category A prisons where he would be tormented by his tabloid nicknames "The Wirral Predator", "The Mersey Ripper" and "Nocturnal Predator".

Navigating a Transformed World

Ahead of our conversation, he was abundant with tales about how since his exoneration he has had to adapt to a completely different world.

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

He described watching the collapse of the Berlin Wall from a public television in prison.

Mr Sullivan described how trips to the shops now show how "everything's changed" - from trying to work out how self-checkouts work to realising that "in place of having a cheque book, you've got it on your phone".

Technological Adjustments

His confinement means he has been unaware of the way so many aspects of everyday life have evolved - comparable to someone who has been asleep since the 1980s.

"Following 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 receive your money - you're thinking, 'Amazing, what's going on here?'"

He now has a digital phone, after finding out 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 traveling on a bus shortly after his release and saw people using smartphones. He only understood they were phones when he saw someone put one to their ear.

Psychological Impact

Mr Sullivan's 14,000 days in custody have also led to an inevitable sense of system dependency.

He described how after his release, one morning in his flat he returned to his bedroom and sat down on his bed, because he was subconsciously waiting for a prison officer to come and secure him into his cell.

"It's required to be at your door at a designated moment, otherwise the officers will go off at you", he said.

"I remained thinking, 'Why am I here?'"

Seeking Answers

But Mr Sullivan's hope is tempered by a longing for answers about how he was 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.

"I lost all my freedom, I lost my mother since I've been in prison, I've lost my father.

"It hurts because I wasn't there for them", he said.

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

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

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 developments in the law over the last 40 years".

The force did refer 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 beat him up and warned 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 lengthy statement it said: "The force regrets that there has been a significant injustice of justice in this case".

Looking Ahead

Mr Sullivan told me about his simple goal - an ambition that he said he had given up of being able to achieve at some points over his nearly four decades behind bars.

"All I want to do now is get on with my own life and carry on as I was before, and experience freedom now".

His prospects may be made easier by government monetary award, paid to victims of miscarriages of justice.

This scheme is restricted at £1.3m, a limit which it is believed his resulting award will get very approach.

But the procedure is not automatic, 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 acknowledge their crimes and are paroled get a accommodation and some help with living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an wrongly convicted individual, is not entitled to that help.

And so he is surviving a modest life, with his basic aspirations - although many think he is a compensation recipient.

His legal representative, Sarah Myatt, said "no amount that you could say that would be enough for forfeiting 38 years of your life".