🔗 Share this article

Considering he who's lost approximately 40 years of his life as a result of a crime he didn't commit, Peter Sullivan projects a remarkably optimistic tone.

In our conversation last month, for what was his initial media appearance since being liberated from prison in May, he was cheerful and looking forward to 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 brutal homicide of Diane Sindall in his local community of Birkenhead - an incident he said he was merely aware of because someone approached him in a pub at the time and said, "reportedly there's been a murder".

When he was convicted the following year at Liverpool Crown Court - he was destined to a extended term in some of Britain's highest-security category A prisons where he would be tormented by his tabloid nicknames "The Beast of Birkenhead", "The Mersey Ripper" and "The Wolfman".

Adjusting to a Digital World

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

When he was detained, Margaret Thatcher was in Downing Street, few knew about the internet and Europe was still separated by the Iron Curtain.

He described watching the demolition of the Berlin Wall from a shared television in prison.

Mr Sullivan described how trips to the shops now show how "society has evolved" - from trying to understand how self-checkouts function to realising that "instead of having a cheque book, you've got it on your phone".

Modern Surprises

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

He now has a mobile device, after discovering doctor's appointments need to be booked on something he now knows is called an 'app'.

He first became knowledgeable about them when he was riding on a bus shortly after his freedom and saw people operating smartphones. He only realised they were phones when he saw someone put one to their ear.

Emotional Consequences

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

He remembered how after his liberation, one morning in his flat he walked back to his bedroom and settled on his bed, because he was automatically waiting for a prison officer to come and secure him into his cell.

"You must be at your door at a designated moment, otherwise the officers will go off at you", he said.

"I found myself thinking, 'What's happening?'"

Seeking Answers

But Mr Sullivan's optimism is balanced by a desire for answers about how he ended up being charged with an notorious murder that he didn't commit, and a confusion about why he still has not had an admission of error.

"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.

"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 explanation 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 "there would be little benefit to be gained for a review 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 allegations to the police regulatory agency, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who will now examine 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 lengthy statement it said: "The force recognizes that there has been a serious failure of justice in this case".

Future Prospects

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 almost forty years behind bars.

"The sole objective to do now is proceed with my own life and carry on as I was before, and experience freedom now".

His future may be made easier by government financial payment, paid to individuals affected of judicial errors.

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

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

Andrew Malkinson, whose conviction for a rape he had no involvement in was quashed in 2023, was only granted an interim compensation payout earlier this year.

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

And so he is existing a basic lifestyle, with his humble goals - although many consider he is a future wealthy man.

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