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

In our conversation last month, for what was his initial media appearance since being released from prison in May, he was upbeat and eagerly anticipating getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the opening match 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 event he said he only knew about because someone spoke to him in a pub at the time and said, "reportedly there's been a murder".

When he was sentenced the following year at Liverpool Crown Court - he was sentenced to a lifetime in some of Britain's highest-security category A prisons where he would be hounded by his tabloid nicknames "The Wirral Predator", "River Mersey Murderer" and "Nocturnal Predator".

Adapting to a Modern World

Before our interview, he was abundant with tales about how since his release he has had to adjust to a fundamentally altered world.

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

He described watching the collapse of the Berlin Wall from a communal 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 operate to realising that "in place of having a cheque book, you've got it on your phone".

Technological Challenges

His incarceration means he has been unaware of the way so many elements of everyday life have transformed - similar to someone who has been in hibernation 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 collect your money - you're thinking, 'Amazing, what's going on here?'"

He now has a smartphone, 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 traveling on a bus shortly after his freedom and saw people twiddling with smartphones. He only realised they were phones when he saw someone put one to their ear.

Psychological Impact

Mr Sullivan's 14,000 days in prison have also led to an unavoidable sense of institutionalisation.

He described how after his freedom, one morning in his flat he went back to his bedroom and positioned himself on his bed, because he was subconsciously waiting for a prison officer to come and confine him into his cell.

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

"I found myself thinking, 'Why am I here?'"

Seeking Explanation

But Mr Sullivan's hope is balanced by a desire for answers about how he was charged with an high-profile murder that he had no part in, and a bewilderment about why he still has not had an admission of error.

"Everything is gone", he said.

"Freedom disappeared, I lost my mother since I've been in prison, I've lost my father.

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

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

"The sole thing I need, an apology [and to understand] the reason why they've done this to me", he said.

Law Enforcement Position

Merseyside Police said "limited value to be gained for a reassessment of this matter today" because of "developments to investigative techniques and developments in the law over the last 40 years".

The force did submit some of Mr Sullivan's allegations to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who will now examine his claims that officers beat him up 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 specifically respond the question, but as part of a detailed response it said: "The force recognizes that there has been a serious failure of justice in this case".

Moving Forward

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

"My only desire to do now is proceed with my own life and progress as I was before, and live my time out now".

His prospects may be made less challenging by government monetary award, paid to wrongly convicted people of judicial errors.

This scheme is restricted at £1.3m, a cap which it is thought his final compensation will get very near.

But the procedure is not guaranteed, and it is lengthy.

Andrew Malkinson, whose conviction for a rape he was innocent of was quashed in 2023, was only given an provisional award earlier this year.

Guilty prisoners who admit to their crimes and are freed get a place to live and some support regarding living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an wrongly convicted individual, is not qualified for that help.

And so he is surviving a simple existence, with his humble goals - although many think he is a future wealthy man.

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