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Considering he who's sacrificed nearly 40 years of his life as a result of a crime he was innocent of, Peter Sullivan strikes a remarkably hopeful tone.

In our conversation 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 violent killing of Diane Sindall in his home town of Birkenhead - an occurrence 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 found guilty the following year at Liverpool Crown Court - he was condemned to a lifetime in some of Britain's highest-security category A prisons where he would be persecuted by his tabloid nicknames "Birkenhead's Monster", "Merseyside Killer" and "Nocturnal Predator".

Adjusting to a Modern World

Ahead of our conversation, he was abundant with tales about how since his exoneration he has had to acclimate to a radically changed world.

When he was taken into custody, Margaret Thatcher was in Downing Street, no one had heard of the internet and Europe was still separated by the Iron Curtain.

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

Mr Sullivan told me how trips to the shops now show how "the world has transformed" - 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".

Technological Surprises

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

"After spending 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 receive your money - you're thinking, 'Goodness, what's going on here?'"

He now has a digital phone, after learning doctor's appointments need to be scheduled 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 freedom and saw people twiddling with smartphones. He only recognized they were phones when he saw someone put one to their ear.

Mental Effects

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

He remembered how after his liberation, one morning in his flat he returned to his bedroom and sat down on his bed, because he was unconsciously waiting for a prison officer to come and confine him into his cell.

"You must be at your door at a specific hour, otherwise the officers will discipline you", he said.

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

Desiring Answers

But Mr Sullivan's positivity is tempered by a desire for answers about how he ended up being charged with an high-profile murder that he didn't commit, and a perplexity about why he still has not had an admission of error.

"I've lost everything", 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 wasn't there for them", he said.

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

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

Authorities Position

Merseyside Police said "minimal advantage to be gained for a re-examination of this matter today" because of "developments to investigative techniques and progress 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 investigate his claims that officers beat him up and warned 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 acknowledges that there has been a serious failure of justice in this case".

Looking Ahead

Mr Sullivan explained about his basic aspiration - 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 carry on as I was before, and live my time out now".

His life ahead may be made more manageable by government monetary award, paid to individuals affected of judicial errors.

This program is capped at £1.3m, a maximum which it is believed his eventual payout will get very approach.

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

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

Admitted offenders who acknowledge 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 consider he is a future wealthy man.

His legal representative, Sarah Myatt, said "there's not a figure that you could say that would be sufficient for losing 38 years of your life".